De Zerbi plays down Tel flashpoint as Tottenham's four-game scoring drought deepens

Roberto De Zerbi insisted there is no rift with Mathys Tel after Tottenham were held to a goalless draw by Everton at home on Saturday, a fourth consecutive Premier League match in which Spurs have failed to score.

De Zerbi’s decision to pull Tel aside on the pitch at full-time and deliver instructions drew attention when the 21-year-old appeared to show a flicker of frustration before the manager moved on to speak with other players. De Zerbi was quick to frame the exchange as coaching rather than confrontation.

“I coached him on the pitch — the body shape,” De Zerbi said. “He is a striker and the striker can play with the shoulder on the goal. He has to stay inside because he started as a striker. Now he is playing as a winger but I love Mathys as a player, as a guy and there is not a problem.”

The more pressing concern for Tottenham is a bluntness in attack that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Spurs produced an encouraging opening half-hour, fashioning several dangerous moments, but never seriously tested Jordan Pickford until Lucas Bergvall had a late effort tipped wide.

Savio and Omar Marmoush offered flashes of quality without a decisive contribution, while Dominic Solanke — making his first Premier League start since April — made minimal impact on his return from injury. The striker’s struggles were compounded by the absence of Richarlison, who was left out of the club’s 25-man Premier League squad and failed to complete a move to Vasco da Gama, leaving him unavailable in the division until 2027.

De Zerbi acknowledged the attacking deficiencies while remaining measured in his assessment. “I think we played very well for the first 30 minutes and then maybe the energy, maybe the fact we didn’t score — we lost in some players a little confidence,” he said. “We have to improve in the last third of the pitch, for sure. The last decision, the last pass, and we have to shoot more times especially when we have space and time.”

With James Maddison and Mohammed Kudus also yet to find consistent form, Spurs face a mounting challenge to convert their periods of promise into goals before the lack of cutting edge begins to cost them points they cannot afford to drop.