Tottenham Hotspur’s difficult start to the Premier League season has produced an unusual set of defensive statistics, with Roberto De Zerbi’s side committing plenty of fouls but picking up relatively few yellow cards.Tottenham Hotspur remain without a Premier League victory after their opening five matches of the 2026/27 campaign, taking just two points while scoring twice and conceding eight goals.Those results have understandably placed plenty of attention on Roberto De Zerbi and his players, but the underlying defensive numbers paint a more complicated picture than simply suggesting Spurs have not been aggressive enough.Tottenham have committed 66 Premier League fouls while receiving only five yellow cards, while Rodrigo Bentancur has emerged as one of the division’s busiest players when it comes to tackling.Credit: @thatfootballphotog / InstagramTottenham have received only five yellow cardsAccording to the Premier League’s official yellow-card statistics, Tottenham have received five bookings across their opening five league matches, an average of exactly one per game.That figure becomes more interesting when compared with the number of fouls Spurs have committed. Tottenham have been penalised 66 times already this season, working out at 13.2 fouls per match, yet their disciplinary record remains relatively modest.StatisticTottenham totalPer matchFouls committed6613.2Yellow cards51.0Red cards00That works out at approximately one yellow card for every 13.2 fouls committed by Tottenham. Not every foul warrants a booking, of course, with the severity, location and circumstances of a challenge all influencing a referee’s decision, but the gap between the two figures still stands out.Which Tottenham players have been booked this season?Tottenham’s five Premier League yellow cards have been shared between five different players, meaning nobody in De Zerbi’s squad has received more than one booking during the opening five matches.PlayerYellow cardsConor Gallagher1Destiny Udogie1Jan Paul van Hecke1Mateus Fernandes1Micky van de Ven1Total5The distribution is worth noting because Tottenham do not currently have one player repeatedly getting into disciplinary trouble. Despite the number of challenges and fouls being made across the team, no Spurs player has collected a second Premier League booking.Credit: @thefrederikkejensen / InstagramRodrigo Bentancur leads Tottenham for tackles wonThe Premier League’s official tackles won statistics offer another useful insight into Tottenham’s work without the ball.It is important to separate tackles won from total tackles, as they measure different things. Bentancur has made 15 total tackles through Tottenham’s opening five league games, while eight of those challenges have been recorded as tackles won.The Uruguayan currently leads Tottenham for tackles won, with several defenders and midfielders also contributing regularly.Tottenham playerTackles wonRodrigo Bentancur8Jan Paul van Hecke5Micky van de Ven5Mateus Fernandes5Andy Robertson4Conor Gallagher4Marcos Senesi4Sandro Tonali4Bentancur’s numbers underline just how involved he has been when Tottenham are attempting to regain possession. He has started four of the opening five Premier League matches and continues to play an important role at the heart of De Zerbi’s midfield.Spurs are not avoiding defensive challengesTottenham’s poor results might make it easy to assume that the team simply need to show more aggression, but the defensive numbers do not really support that argument.Bentancur alone has recorded 15 total tackles, while Van Hecke, Van de Ven, Fernandes and Tonali have also been regularly involved in defensive challenges. The Premier League’s total tackles statistics place Bentancur among the competition’s most active players in that area.The issue for Spurs appears to be more complicated than simply asking the players to make more challenges. Tottenham are already engaging opponents regularly, yet that defensive activity has not translated into positive results, with the club sitting bottom of the Premier League table after five matches.Tottenham’s interception numbers offer a different pictureOne area that stands out when compared with Tottenham’s tackling numbers is interceptions. Spurs have recorded only 21 during their opening five Premier League matches, an average of 4.2 per game.Interceptions occur when a player reads and cuts out an opposition pass before it reaches the intended recipient, rather than challenging a player who already has possession. The distinction gives us another way of looking at how Tottenham are trying to regain the ball.A high number of tackles combined with relatively few interceptions does not prove there is a problem with De Zerbi’s defensive system. Possession, pressing style, opposition tactics and the state of individual matches can all have a significant impact on those numbers.What it does show is that Tottenham have frequently been required to engage opponents directly rather than cutting out passes beforehand. If that pattern continues over a larger sample of matches, it will become increasingly interesting when assessing how effectively De Zerbi’s press is working.Tottenham are also competing for plenty of duelsTottenham’s wider duel statistics offer further evidence that the team are not simply standing off opponents. Spurs have won around 260 duels across their first five Premier League matches, putting them among the stronger sides in the division in that area.Duels cover a broader range of situations than tackling alone, including aerial challenges, loose balls and other one-against-one contests. Viewed alongside Tottenham’s foul and tackling numbers, there is little evidence that the side are unwilling to compete physically.The more important question is whether those challenges are taking place in the areas where De Zerbi wants his players to regain possession. Winning the ball deep inside your own half is very different from recovering it high enough up the pitch to immediately threaten the opposition goal.Tottenham’s five yellow cards make the numbers more unusualWhen Tottenham’s early defensive statistics are brought together, the contrast becomes clearer.MetricTottenham after five gamesFouls committed66Fouls per game13.2Yellow cards5Yellow cards per game1.0Interceptions21Bentancur total tackles15Bentancur tackles won8Red cards0Spurs are making plenty of defensive challenges and conceding more than 13 fouls per match, but they have avoided accumulating a similarly high number of cards.There are several possible explanations. Many of Tottenham’s fouls may simply not be serious enough to warrant a booking, while Spurs may also be avoiding some of the cynical tactical fouls that commonly result in yellow cards when teams deliberately stop counter-attacks.Without reviewing all 66 fouls individually, it would be wrong to draw a firm conclusion about why Tottenham’s card total remains so low. The contrast is still one of the more interesting statistical features of their opening five matches.Credit: @thefrederikkejensen / InstagramTottenham’s problems are about more than effortThe statistics provide useful context when assessing a winless start that has left De Zerbi searching for answers after five Premier League matches.Tottenham’s players are making challenges, winning duels and committing plenty of fouls, which makes it difficult to argue that a simple lack of physical effort is at the heart of their problems. The bigger concern may be what happens before those defensive actions become necessary.If opponents are able to progress through Tottenham’s initial press or defensive shape before being challenged, simply increasing the number of tackles is unlikely to fix the underlying issue. This is where the interception numbers become particularly interesting, as cutting out passes earlier could reduce the number of occasions when a Spurs player is required to make a challenge after the opposition has already secured possession.It is an area worth watching as De Zerbi attempts to improve Tottenham’s structure without the ball.Bentancur remains central to Tottenham’s defensive workBentancur’s numbers show just how important he has been to Tottenham’s attempts to regain possession. His 15 total tackles and eight tackles won make him the standout Spurs player in those categories after the opening five league matches.The midfielder has regularly been asked to protect Tottenham’s defence while also helping De Zerbi’s side move the ball through midfield, and his defensive workload highlights the responsibility he currently carries in the centre of the pitch.The problem is that Spurs have still conceded eight league goals despite the amount of defensive work taking place in front of their back line. Individual tackles and duels can only tell part of the story, particularly when the wider defensive structure is still developing under a new head coach.What do Tottenham’s defensive numbers actually tell us?Five matches remains a small sample, so it would be premature to make sweeping conclusions about how Tottenham will defend across the entire season. What the early data does show is that Spurs are not simply sitting back and allowing opponents to play without resistance.They are committing plenty of fouls, Bentancur is heavily involved in attempting to win the ball back and Tottenham’s players are regularly competing for duels. The challenge for De Zerbi is turning that activity into a more efficient defensive structure.Spurs need to regain possession in better areas and reduce the number of situations where opponents are able to progress far enough for a tackle or foul to become necessary. If the gap between Tottenham’s tackling and interception numbers remains after another five or ten matches, it could provide a much clearer indication of how the team’s defensive approach is developing.For now, Tottenham’s five yellow cards represent a relatively disciplined start, but the wider defensive numbers give De Zerbi plenty to work on as Spurs search for their first Premier League victory of the season.Stats are all correct as of 23rd September 2026The post Tottenham’s foul and tackling numbers tell a very different story to their results - Opinion appeared first on Spurs Web.