De Zerbi names his attackers after Tottenham's third match without a win

Tottenham have still not won in the Premier League this season. After two defeats to Brentford (3-0) and Newcastle (0-2), Spurs drew 0-0 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday in matchday 3, and have slipped to 18th place, in the relegation zone.

Despite some good attacking sequences, the London side never found a way through. Roberto De Zerbi did not mince his words in his press conference. “We need to improve and make better decisions, manage to stay calm when we are about to do something important in the final thirty metres,” said the Italian manager.

The former Olympique de Marseille coach went so far as to cite specific situations to illustrate his point. “When Omar Marmoush shoots and the ball goes over, we had Andy Robertson on the wing. If we had made the right decision, Mohammed Kudus was at the far post, ready to score. How many crosses did we send to the far post? Mathys Tel, twice. Savinho, once.”

It was on the Frenchman that De Zerbi dwelt at greatest length. “Mathys Tel has great potential, but he makes too many poor decisions,” he said bluntly. Harsh words for an attacking department whose summer recruitment is estimated at £190 million.

With just one point on the board after three matches, Tottenham find themselves in the red zone. De Zerbi must quickly find the formula to get a team functioning that, for now, is not converting its chances.