Nottingham Forest 0-0 Tottenham: Expensive but misfiring Spurs still need to improve

Last March’s 3-0 win for Forest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium provided the platform for the visitors’ survival bid while leaving Spurs floundering until the final day.

Since then Spurs have spent over £300m on new players – contributing to the record £3.49bn Premier League outlay this summer.

Sandro Tonali, Jon Paul Van Hecke, Savio and Omar Marmoush were the new signings who started on Saturday, with De Zerbi remaining calm after another blank.

“We bought very, very good players but you can’t just build the team with the names like in Football Manager,” he told Sky Sports.

“We are disappointed for the result but for the performance very happy. Considering we started to work together last Thursday for the first time, for the first day.

“We have to improve in every part of football, organisation with and without the ball. Even today I thought we defended very well.

“We have to work because I think we played very well with the ball, we found the solution. I think we can be much better in the final third.”

De Zerbi bemoaned Tottenham‘s decision-making with Marmoush a culprit, blazing over in the second half with Andy Robertson on an overlap and Mohammed Kudus waiting for a far-post tap in.

The former Brighton boss could see the positives but needs his men to discover their composure.

“I think we played well, in the last third we have to improve, we have to take better decisions, maybe keep calmer when we are close to doing something important.

“The chance when Marmoush shot, we had Robertson overlapping. If we take the right decision and if we play with Robertson on the second post there is Kudus to score.

“I am very happy with the spirit, with the organisation, their style of play is very clear, long ball and second ball, even the second ball we won many duels. They are good players.

“Taking a point in this stadium is not so easy. We are not happy because we didn’t win but this is the right spirit and the right way to move on in this moment.”

A draw was Tottenham‘s eighth in the league this year, their most across a calendar year since 2020, and they failed to have a shot on target in a top-flight match for the first time since April 2022 against Brentford under Antonio Conte.

Spurs have had 38 shots in the league this season with an expected goals of 3.3 and former midfielder Danny Murphy agreed with De Zerbi over what the visitors lacked.

“When Spurs did get in really good areas, they just rushed it and shot when they maybe should’ve passed,” he told BBC Sport.

“They made the wrong choice on pullbacks or crosses when they’re getting in wide areas, taking men on one too many times when they’ve already got the space.

“They were just missing that little bit of calmness and composure that you expect from top quality players.

“It takes time for some players [to find chemistry]. You could argue that Marmoush and Savio know each other anyway and bright footballers quickly learn each other’s runs and movements.

“From a midfielder to a forward perspective, you’re not always sure what they’re going to do. Whereas if you played with someone for a while, it comes more naturally. So those relationships will build.”