Nottingham Forest and Tottenham settle for a goalless draw in a game of few ideas and plenty of wastefulness

Nottingham Forest 0-0 Tottenham: Spurs remain without a goal as a lack of creativity is exposed at the City Ground

Tottenham arrived at the City Ground under pressure after two defeats in their opening two games and with an uncomfortable statistic: they were still without a goal in the Premier League. They left Nottingham with their first point of the season, but also with the same problem that had followed them into kick-off. The 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest did not solve the Spurs' attacking issues — it merely prevented the crisis from taking on an even greater dimension.

Forest, meanwhile, also had reasons to rue the result. They created the better chances at certain points, even found the back of the net in the second half, but saw the goal ruled out after a VAR intervention for a handball by Neco Williams.

In the end, both teams finished with 12 shots, but only Forest managed to put attempts on target — twice, compared with none for Tottenham.

First half

Tottenham started by trying to take control of the game territorially. After 12 minutes, Spurs had 65% possession, while Forest looked to attack mainly when they could accelerate down the flanks.

Despite their dominance of the ball, Roberto De Zerbi's side lacked penetration. Tottenham struggled to turn possession into genuinely dangerous situations, while Forest found space whenever they managed to play through the visitors' first line of pressure.

On 16 minutes, however, the visitors created one of the best chances of the half. Pedro Porro picked out Omar Marmoush with an excellent ball over the top, putting the forward in a position to take on the defence. Marmoush won the physical battle, found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but fired wide.

Forest responded on the half-hour mark. The home side advanced down the left, delivered the ball into the box and, after a partial clearance, Jair Paula arrived on the edge of the area to shoot. The effort went narrowly over.

Forest's best moment of the half came in the 42nd minute. Liam Delap found Morgan Gibbs-White with a quick attacking move, sending the midfielder through on goal against Antonín Kinsky. The finish forced an excellent save from the Tottenham goalkeeper. The assistant referee, however, had already raised the flag for offside — a very tight decision.

Gradually, Forest began to find a foothold in a game in which Tottenham had more of the ball, but offered little threat.

At half-time, Spurs had 60% possession and four shots, none on target. Forest had managed seven attempts and put one on target.

The scoreline, therefore, reflected the lack of efficiency from both sides more than a complete absence of chances.

Second half

The second half began without a dramatic change to the pattern of the game. Tottenham continued to see more of the ball, but struggled to get into Forest's penalty area. The hosts, meanwhile, looked more comfortable whenever they could speed the game up.

Then, in the 65th minute, came the moment that could have completely changed the course of the match.

Gibbs-White received a pass from James McAtee and tried to lift the ball over Kinsky. The ball lost pace as it headed towards goal. Sandro Tonali appeared on the goal line to try to clear it, but the ball found Neco Williams, who turned it into the net.

The City Ground erupted.

Forest had taken the lead.

But the celebration was short-lived.

VAR reviewed the incident and identified a handball by Neco Williams. The goal was ruled out and the score returned to 0-0. It was one of the most significant moments of the match, but the handball was decisive in making the goal invalid.

From there, the game lost even more intensity.

Both teams reached the final stages looking for a winner, but the quality of their decisions in the final third failed to match their attacking intent. Tottenham, in particular, continued to struggle to turn possession into dangerous opportunities.

In the 86th minute, Gibbs-White found space to shoot after a good Forest move, but the Spurs defence got across in time to block the effort.

A minute later, Tottenham finally created a dangerous opening. Mateus Fernandes laid the ball off to Mohammed Kudus, who found space on the right and delivered a cross into the box. Dominic Solanke rose to meet it, but headed over the crossbar.

It was practically the visitors' last major threat.

The final whistle confirmed the 0-0 draw at the City Ground.

What remains

The draw leaves both sides with very different feelings.

For Tottenham, the point is important mainly because it stops the run of two consecutive defeats to begin the campaign. But there is no hiding the problem: Spurs remain without a goal in the Premier League in the 2026/27 season. After defeats to Brentford and Newcastle, the team finally picked up a point, but once again failed to find the net.

And the numbers help explain the difficulty. Tottenham finished the match with 59% possession, but had 12 shots and none on target. Having the ball, therefore, did not mean truly controlling the game. Spurs lacked acceleration, penetration and, above all, precision in the final third.

For Roberto De Zerbi, that is probably the biggest area of concern. A team can dominate possession and still fail to produce enough. Tottenham had the ball, but could not turn their territorial dominance into enough attacking volume to seriously trouble Matz Sels.

Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, can look back on the draw with a little more frustration. They had spells of superiority, created good chances and even found the net, but the disallowed goal prevented their efforts from being converted into three points.

The result leaves Forest with two points from three games, while Tottenham move onto their first point, but remain winless and without a goal in the competition.

In the end, the 0-0 draw rewarded a lack of efficiency more than attacking quality. Forest had the better chances at certain points, Tottenham had more possession, but neither side found the decisive moment to settle the game.

For Forest, it feels like a missed opportunity at home. For Tottenham, the concern is greater: the first point has arrived, but the first goal remains nowhere to be found.