Tottenham Hotspur are by no means a one-man team, but they rely heavily upon Harry Kane when it comes to scoring goals.
With a total of 122 Premier League goals in the five campaigns prior to 2019/20, it's understandable that Spurs look to the England skipper as their primary means of scoring. Their slight dependence on Kane explains why his poor record versus Newcastle United cost the side in their Sunday afternoon meeting with the Magpies.
Steve Bruce's men left north London with a 1-0 victory courtesy of Joelinton's first goal in English football, with the Brazilian heavily involved throughout the contest.
By comparison, Kane had the fewest touches of any Tottenham player in the match (24). Moreover, his failure to find the net in the Magpies clash means the striker has scored just two goals in his last nine appearances against them.
If he isn't firing on all cylinders, Spurs rarely have the firepower to pummel their opponents. There's little doubt that the forward was underwhelming on Sunday, so the lack of goals is hardly a massive surprise.
Kane notched twice in his first Premier League outing this term, scoring a brace as the Lilywhites produced a stirring fightback against Aston Villa on opening day.
FULL-TIME Spurs 0-1 Newcastle
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 25, 2019
An upset in London as Joelinton’s first #PL goal is enough for Newcastle to secure their first win of the season#TOTNEW pic.twitter.com/tStka5MkL3
However, he was a bit of a bystander the following week away to Manchester City, though a positional error from Sky Blues' goalkeeper Ederson and a salmon-like leap from Lucas Moura salvaged an improbable point for the visitors.
There were no freak efforts versus Newcastle, however, with Mauricio Pochettino's side suffering their first defeat of the new season.
Source: 90min
