If Tottenham Hotspur are to overcome their poor start to the new season, they're going to have to start scoring goals.
As we celebrate (or condemn, depends on who you're asking) the Premier League's return after a three-week international break that has drawn criticism from plenty, given the volume of injuries, Spurs are desperate to escape their perilous position at the foot of the table.
We're yet to claim a league victory, and our first two goals in the competition didn't arrive until Matchday 5. By that point, Aston Villa were 3-0 up and coasting.
Goals have been the big issue for Roberto De Zerbi's side, with our shot-conversion rate (2.82%) the second-worst in the division, per Opta. However, bereft of a No. 10, we've also struggled to create high-quality chances. Only Coventry City (4.88) and Villa (4.65) have notched lower xGs than the Lilywhites (5.00).
And given the make-up of our squad, there doesn't appear to be a quick fix. However, Spurs should take encouragement from the Premier League's most rampant outfit.
Brighton's rampant start to season should offer Spurs solace
Brighton & Hove Albion's stellar start to the season continued with a 3-0 victory over the seemingly infallible champions, Arsenal, before the break. It was the Seagulls' approach without the ball that dominated mainstream discourse, with the Gunners shackled and smothered by Fabian Hürzeler's men.
Brighton, who also knocked Manchester United out of the Carabao Cup, have scored 16 goals through five league games. And they're doing it without a proven goalscorer at the highest level.
That's the stick plenty have beaten Tottenham with—lamenting the lack of a reliable sharpshooter—but there's Dominic Solanke, who scored 19 times for Bournemouth in the top flight, and Omar Marmoush, who has 87 career goals and a Premier League hat-trick to his name. Sure, we might not have Harry Kane at our disposal, but Brighton are leading the way with a group of relative unknowns spearheading their attack.
Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh are out injured, while Danny Welbeck joined Chelsea in the summer. Instead, 19-year-old Charalampos Kostoulas, who barely had double-digit senior goals to his name before the season, is leading the line and 20-year-old Malick Yalcouyé has mitigated Jack Hinshelwood's injury absence. Both have scored two league goals.
Hürzeler, courtesy of more astute work from Tony Bloom & Co. has found alternative solutions to the obvious. Brighton have more high turnovers (56) than anyone else in the division, but only one has resulted in a goal—when Hinshelwood picked João Gomes’ pocket on the opening weekend.
The Seagulls have been dominant from set-pieces, scoring the joint-most in the league (four), while Arsenal were defied by strikes from distance before the break. Pascal Groß is enjoying one of the best runs of his career, satisfying FPL owners weekly.
Brighton have been a joy to watch so far, and their productive opening has proven that you can score goals in the absence of a reliable No. 9. The departure of Welbeck, last season's top scorer, hasn't in any way hindered the Seagulls. They've instead been emboldened by Hürzeler's revolution. The German has empowered those at his disposal and converted his team into one that can hurt you in so many ways. They may have outperformed their xG by 4.51, yet it's still the highest tally in the division.
That's the challenge at De Zerbi's disposal. Can he mirror Hürzeler's early-season achievements on the south coast once things "click" for his new-look Tottenham outfit?
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