Harry Kane guides Tottenham past Nottingham Forest despite penalty miss

There are really three ways of interpreting Tottenham’s start to the season. One is that a team playing this modestly, with such an overreliance on the counterattack, is due a reversion to the mean before long. Another is that their results are an impressive indication of resilience and confidence, and once performances catch up and new signings gel, they will be a formidable presence.

But of course there is a third theory: that when you have one of the world’s greatest strikers, under the tutelage of one of its greatest strategists, the conventional laws of footballing gravity do not necessarily apply. Antonio Conte’s teams have always prided themselves on taking the shortest and most expedient route from goal to goal. And if that means simply giving the ball to Harry Kane, then it will certainly do for now.

Two more goals from Kane gave Tottenham another win here. Again, it was a flawed and often scrappy performance that relied on a little defensive fortune. By the same token, Tottenham could easily have scored more: the front three had 12 shots between them, including Kane’s second-half penalty which was saved by Dean Henderson. Nottingham Forest had most of the ball, most of the territory and pretty much all of the noise. But they didn’t have a Golden Boot winner.

And yet for now these are golden days on the banks of the Trent, a time of fresh horizons and fresh hope, before the grim realities of survival kick in, when the days are warm and the new signings pour through the door like old friends: 18 of them already this summer, and there were moments when it felt like all of them were on the pitch at once. In the stands, owner Evangelos Marinakis surveyed his realm like a proud king. On the pitch, Henderson wore a