adminRoberto De Zerbi has criticised Tottenham Hotspur’s attacking players following their frustrating 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The result gave Spurs their first Premier League point of the new campaign after they suffered consecutive defeats to Brentford and Newcastle United in their opening matches.
However, De Zerbi was far from satisfied with his team’s decision-making in the final third. The Tottenham boss specifically pointed to an opportunity involving new summer signing Omar Marmoush, while also expressing his frustration with Mathys Tel’s decision-making.
Tel started the match but was replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk during the second half, with De Zerbi admitting that the young French winger still needs to improve the choices he makes in attacking situations.
Speaking after the draw, De Zerbi said Tottenham had performed well overall but needed to be more composed and clinical when approaching the opposition penalty area.
“I think we played well but in the last third we have to improve,” De Zerbi explained.
“We have to take the better decisions. We have to keep more calm when we are very close to doing something important in the last third.”
The Italian manager highlighted one particular moment involving Marmoush, explaining that the forward could have made better use of Andy Robertson’s overlapping run.
De Zerbi also pointed to several crosses that failed to find their intended targets, including deliveries from Tel and Savio.
He further referenced an attacking move involving Pedro Porro, Mateus Fernandes, Mohammed Kudus and Dominic Solanke, suggesting that Spurs had opportunities to create clearer chances but failed to make the correct final decision.
Despite his frustration in attack, De Zerbi was pleased with Tottenham’s overall organisation and defensive work.
He praised the team’s spirit and their ability to compete physically with Forest, particularly against their direct style of play involving long balls and second balls.
“I’m very happy for the spirit of the team, for the organisation, with and without the ball. We didn’t suffer nothing,” he said.
De Zerbi acknowledged that Tottenham were disappointed not to claim all three points but insisted that the performance represented a step in the right direction, particularly because he had only recently begun working with the squad.
He also stressed that building a successful team requires more than simply bringing in new players during the transfer window.
When asked about Mudryk’s Tottenham debut, De Zerbi revealed that the Ukrainian winger is still working towards full fitness and will need time before reaching his best level.
“He’s not ready yet,” De Zerbi said.
“He’s working to reach the best physical condition. He needs time, he needs work.”
The Spurs boss then compared Mudryk’s situation with Tel’s, pointing out that both players possess significant potential but still need to improve their decision-making.
“In that position, we have Mathys Tel, big potential. But also Mathys takes too many wrong decisions, and Mudryk. So, two big players, two big potential players,” De Zerbi added.
Nevertheless, De Zerbi remained confident that Tottenham possess enough attacking quality to score regularly once their players become sharper and more confident.
He backed Marmoush to become a prolific goalscorer, highlighting the qualities that he believes can help the summer signing reach a high goal tally.
“Marmoush, we have to analyse if he has, or not, 15, 12 goals. I think, yes, because he has all the qualities, enough to score that number of goals. He has to improve, of course,” De Zerbi said.
The Tottenham manager also defended Solanke, suggesting that the striker’s missed opportunity could have looked very different had he been operating at peak fitness.
De Zerbi believes confidence, greater understanding between the players and continued work on the training ground will eventually help Tottenham make better decisions in the final third.
For now, Spurs have their first point of the season, but De Zerbi knows there is still plenty of work to do if his side are to turn promising performances into victories.
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