De Zerbi backs Tottenham to find scoring touch after Forest stalemate

Roberto De Zerbi remains confident Tottenham Hotspur will rediscover their attacking rhythm despite opening their Premier League campaign with three consecutive matches without scoring.

Spurs were held to a 0-0 draw by Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday, having already lost to Brentford and Newcastle. The result means Tottenham have failed to score in their first three league games for the first time since 1974.

They also failed to register a shot on target against Forest, underlining the difficulties De Zerbi’s side have faced in the final third. However, the Tottenham manager believes the issue is decision-making rather than a fundamental lack of attacking quality.

“We could have scored three or four goals today,” the Spurs boss said. “In the last third we have to improve. We have to take the better decisions and keep more calm when we are very close to doing something important.”

Tottenham improved after the interval and began to pose a greater threat, but Forest regained control before either team could find a winning goal. De Zerbi said the visitors’ momentum was also disrupted when Savio and Destiny Udogie were taken off after about an hour following advice from the medical staff.

“The medical staff pushed to change Savinho and Udogie after 60 minutes,” De Zerbi said. “Two substitutions in that moment was not so good. Maybe we lost some balance, some connection.”

The closest either side came to breaking the deadlock arrived when Nottingham Forest thought they had scored through Neco Williams. The goal was subsequently disallowed for handball after a video assistant referee review.

Forest manager Oliver Glasner was highly critical of the decision to intervene, saying the evidence was not strong enough to overturn the original on-field ruling.

“The VAR can’t intervene when he is guessing,” Glasner said. “It was not clear and obvious.”

Despite Tottenham’s failure to score, De Zerbi said he was encouraged by the performance, particularly because the squad had only started working together on Thursday. The club spent more than 300 million pounds on new players during the transfer window, leaving the manager with a team still adapting to one another.

“You can’t just build the team with the names like in Football Manager,” he said. “We have to work because I think we played very well with the ball. I think we can be much better in the final third.”

The draw leaves Tottenham searching for their first league win and first goal of the season after a difficult opening run. De Zerbi’s immediate focus will be on improving the quality and composure of his players’ decisions in and around the penalty area, while continuing to develop the connections within a much-changed squad.