Tottenham Hotspur certainly weren't outplayed against Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday evening, but it's another winless encounter for the Londoners - who have now been knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the third round.

The 5-1 win over Championship side Charlton Athletic in the previous round remains Roberto De Zerbi's only victory of the 2026/27 campaign. In the Premier League, Spurs are without a single goal after four matches, blunt and uncertain in attack.

All this we know, and a home contest against fellow strugglers Aston Villa on Saturday marks the only chance Tottenham have before the extended international break to return to winning ways.

The big question here is how does De Zerbi turn things around? Tottenham have been shoddy in attack, but they won't have Richarlison to call upon this season.

How Richarlison's Spurs career has collapsed

Last season, Tottenham finished 17th in the Premier League for the second successive year. It was tough, and few players pulled their weight. Richarlison was imperfect, but he did pop up with some big moments in the final third, outscoring his beleaguered teammates.

With 11 goals, Richarlison comfortably wrapped things up as the club's top scorer in 2025/26, but he will never score another goal for Tottenham, sure to leave the club in January following a breakdown in relationships that has left him ostracised from first-team contention.

De Zerbi has omitted Richarlison, who is 29, from his Premier League squad for the current campaign. He has also asserted in no uncertain terms that the Brazil striker will play no part in the Carabao Cup, a competition in which Spurs no longer play a part anyway, and the FA Cup - though by January, Richarlison may well have jumped ship.

Tottenham have fallen by the wayside over the past several years, and so many setbacks have created a stain at an outfit so desperate to return to the ascendancy.

More needs to change, and while Richarlison should probably never play for the club again after such a frustrating turn of events, he's not the only one.

£17m Spurs star must never play for them again

Tottenham have got so many creases to iron out, and interestingly enough, not all of the problems that ENIC Group need to sort out are currently under De Zerbi's wing in north London.

Indeed, should De Zerbi, whose Spurs side are yet to score a single goal in the Premier League after a £300m summer spending spree, still be in a job come next summer, he must ensure Guglielmo Vicario does not return to the squad after his loan spell with Juventus.

Tottenham signed Vicario from Empoli for £17m in 2023, arriving to secure the Ange Postecoglou era in its infancy. Things started so well, but after those brief halcyon days gave way for interminable suffering in the Premier League, Vicario never quite looked the same, unsure and unconvincing in protecting the goalmouth.

Last season, he reached his nadir, culpable for so many poor performances as Tottenham flirted with the very real possibility of being relegated to the Championship. For him to have continued in his first-choice role, ahead of Antonin Kinsky, would have been unforgivable.

Tottenham may need to invest in a new shot-stopper next year, but that would be far more preferable than welcoming the Italy international back to the squad, with his loan spell with Juventus in Serie A, his 67% save percentage an improvement on lowly Premier League form, but still not good enough to warrant a place in a team challenging for Europe and trophies.

Vicario was never firm enough as a shot-stopper, neither was he a convincing leader between the sticks, with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher attacking him for his "embarrassing" lack of leadership during tough times down N17.

Kinsky is hardly perfect, but he proved himself something of a hero as Spurs battled to avoid disaster at the backend of last season, and there's no question that Vicario should not be allowed back into the Tottenham system, should Juventus pass on the opportunity to sign him on a permanent deal at the end of the season.