Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham were held to a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Tottenham Hotspur did at least register their first point of the season after a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest, but they failed to muster a shot on goal at the City Ground.
Defeats to Brentford and Newcastle United in the opening two Premier League games of the season had put Spurs under early-season scrutiny after a summer spend of almost £400 million. As many as 10 new faces have been brought in, including deadline-day acquisitions Mykhaylo Mudryk and Tosin Adarabioyo from bitter rivals Chelsea.
While Roberto De Zerbi can put performances down to players finding their feet, there is a mentality issue that cannot be excused. His team were fortunate to see Neco Williams have a potential second-half winner ruled out. Nottingham Forest are well-drilled and disciplined, but Spurs barely threatened despite having some expensive signings on the pitch.
Roberto De Zerbi delighted with the club’s backing in the transfer market
Savio and Omar Marmoush tried stretching the Forest backline, with the latter floundering the best chance in the first half by dragging his shot wide off the far post. Club-record signing Sandro Tonali had a relatively better display than the opening two outings, but he is still lacking the physical fitness required to bomb up and down the pitch.
After the game, Roberto De Zerbi was asked to comment on Tottenham’s summer spending spree to overhaul the squad. To which our gaffer told BBC Match of the Day (h/t BBC Sport):
“I’m very happy for the transfer market, I think the club, the sporting director and the CEO worked it very, very well with ambition and clear ideas. Now we have to work because in football you cannot ask for time but without time you can do nothing.”
First point on board, but goalscoring problems persist
The Lilywhites did make a marked improvement vs. Forest as they managed a clean sheet after shipping five goals in their last two league games. However, the De Zerbi-managed side’s goalscoring remains a big concern, as they failed to find the back of the net for the third time in this league campaign despite having bolstered their attack by signing Savio, Marmoush and Mudryk.
The 47-year-old tactician lamented his players’ poor decision-making in the final third for the lack of goals. Indeed, Marmoush had a good opportunity in the second half after Antonin Kinsky played him in, while substitute Dominic Solanke couldn’t flex his neck muscles properly to head home from Mohammed Kudus’ cross.
With the flurry of signings done, this Tottenham team was always likely to take time to come together and perform as a unit. They all require more time to understand the patterns of play, and a credible point at Forest is something De Zerbi and Co. must look to build upon.
