Tonali insists Spurs are 'alive and well' despite worst Premier League start in club history

Tonali refuses to panic as Spurs sit bottom after dismal opening

With Tottenham Hotspur rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table after five games, midfielder Sandro Tonali has moved to quash any sense of panic inside the club, insisting the mood remains upbeat despite a historically poor start.

Spurs have collected just two points from their opening five fixtures of the campaign — failing to find the net in four of those matches — leaving them rock-bottom of the division. The haul of two points and a goal difference of -6 marks the club's worst ever start to a Premier League season after five games, eclipsing the previous low of two points and a -3 goal difference set back in 2008-09.

The numbers make for grim reading beyond the bare points total. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, Tottenham have now lost 22 home league games — just one fewer than the 23 they suffered across the previous four campaigns combined. Their most recent defeat, at the hands of Aston Villa immediately before the international break, only deepened the gloom.

Perhaps most damning has been the disconnect between chance creation and end product. Spurs have registered the ninth-most shots in the league this term (71), yet their expected goals tally of 5.0 is the third-lowest in the entire division — a glaring finishing problem that is costing them dearly.

'In 10 days, everything can change'

Speaking while away on international duty with Italy, Tonali — who arrived in north London for a reported £100 million from Newcastle United in the summer — struck an optimistic note and refused to characterise the situation as a crisis.

"Football is very strange; in 10 days, everything can change from negative to positive," the midfielder said. "I would classify our current situation as a club as negative in terms of results but positive for football.

"We're having fun and creating chances. If you don't score in football, you lose. We're not in the doldrums; we're alive and well, and we're positive."

Tough tests await after the break

The road does not get any easier for Ange Postecoglou's successors in the dugout. Spurs, who have also already been eliminated from the EFL Cup, face a brutal run of fixtures following the international break — travelling to Manchester United and Chelsea either side of a home clash with Coventry City.

Whether Tonali's confidence is rewarded on the pitch will depend on his side rediscovering the cutting edge that their shot count suggests they deserve.