De Zerbi highlights Marmoush chance as Tottenham’s search for goals continues

Roberto De Zerbi says Tottenham must improve their decision-making in the final third after a goalless draw with Nottingham Forest, although the manager was pleased with the overall quality of his side’s performance.

The result gave Tottenham their first point of the Premier League season. They began the campaign with a 3-0 defeat by Brentford before losing 2-0 at home to Newcastle.

De Zerbi, who only began working with the squad on Thursday, believes Tottenham can make significant progress once the players develop a stronger understanding of one another.

“I feel disappointed because of the result, but I am very happy with the performance,” he told Sky Sports, in comments reported by the BBC. “Considering that we started working together for the first time last Thursday, from day one, I think we can improve with the last decision and the last pass.

“I remember the situation with Omar Marmoush when he took the shot, while Andy Robertson was behind him and making the run from the same side. If we can improve our performance in the final third, I think we are capable of scoring a lot of goals because we have players with great quality.

“Now it is difficult to accept this result because I think we played a good game.”

Tottenham dominated possession for periods and created attacking situations, but could not find the finish required to claim victory. De Zerbi said the team’s work with the ball was particularly encouraging, while acknowledging that more precision is needed near the opposition penalty area.

“We have to continue working because I think we played very well when we had the ball and we managed to find solutions,” he said. “I think we can be much better in the final third of the pitch.”

The Italian added that Tottenham’s ambition was clear, but urged his players to remain composed as they seek their first league win of the season.

“The mentality of the team is to win, win and win,” said De Zerbi. “But I think we need to stay calm to keep our confidence. I believe we have players with enough quality to score a lot of goals, such as Dominic Solanke, Savinho and Omar Marmoush.”

The manager also explained the decision to withdraw Savinho and Destiny Udogie after 60 minutes. He said the medical staff had asked for both players to be replaced and that Tottenham could not risk further injuries to two important members of the squad.

“I feel sorry because the medical staff asked me to substitute Savinho and Destiny Udogie after 60 minutes,” he said. “Mohammed Kudus and Andy Robertson played very well, but perhaps making two substitutions at that moment was not the best decision.

“But we cannot risk Savinho getting injured again because he is a very important player for us, and the same applies to Destiny. Perhaps we lost some balance and some connection between the lines.”

De Zerbi praised Nottingham Forest’s approach, saying they repeatedly looked to compete for second balls and use long passes. He also said Tottenham still had to develop in every area, both in possession and without it.

“We have to improve in every aspect of football, in terms of our organisation when we have the ball and when we do not,” he said. “Even today, I think we defended very well.

“We signed very good players, but you cannot simply build a team based on names, as happens in Football Manager.”

Asked about a disallowed Nottingham Forest goal, De Zerbi said he had not seen the replay and therefore could not comment.