Soccer
Roberto De Zerbi says wrong decisions cost Spurs as goalless run goes on
Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi is not concerned despite his side limping to a third successive Premier League game without a goal.
Spurs did at least register their first point of the season after a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest, but they failed to muster a shot on goal at the City Ground.
And things could have been much worse had Forest not had a goal controversially disallowed by VAR midway through the second half.
Defeats to Brentford and Newcastle in the opening two games of the season had put Spurs under early-season scrutiny after a summer spend of almost £400million in the transfer window.
And they have now failed to score in their opening three league matches for the first time since 1974, ending the match with a 0.0 xG.
Asked if he was worried, the Italian said: “No. We could have scored three or four goals today, because if you take the wrong decision, you don’t score.
“But for me it is a chance to score.
“I think we played well but in the last third we have to improve. We have to take the better decisions. We have to keep more calm when we are very close to doing something important in the last third.
“I remember the chance when (Omar) Marmoush shot at goal [in the second half], the way we had (Andy) Robertson overlapping. If we take the right decision and we play with Robertson then on the second post there is (Mohamed) Kudus to score like this.
“Or how many crosses went over the second post? From Mathys Tel, two times, Savio, one time. Savio I think it’s the last decision.
“We are not happy because we didn’t win, but I think this is the right spirit and the right way to move on in this moment.
“Because we started just last Thursday to work [all] together and to create, to build the team, to build the organisation. It’s not enough the paper, the transfer market.”
Nottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner accused VAR of “guessing” during the decision to disallow Neco Williams’ goal.
Forest were denied a first victory of the season when Williams’ effort was disallowed for handball after a lengthy dissection by VAR Peter Bankes.
Williams bundled the ball home on the line, but Bankes ruled it his arm as he protected his face when Sandro Tonali was about to kick the ball.
Glasner pointed to a pre-season directive for a higher threshold for VAR interventions and said
“The referee allowed the goal and I watched it back, I told my analyst to show me all the angles,” the Austrian said.
“I watched five or six different angles and to be fair, from one angle you can guess that the ball touched the arm because the shirt moves a little bit, but it’s not clear if it’s the ball or Tonali on the goalline.
“I think the VAR can’t intervene when he is guessing. It was not clear and obvious.
“We had a briefing before the season that the threshold for VAR intervention this year should be very high, which is why this is a wrong intervention.
“I think it was a clear penalty when Neco Williams was fouled by Mo Kudus. We didn’t feel that some decisions were in our favour today.
“If it’s not 100 per cent clear, stick to the on-field decisions. This is the inconsistency today.
“I told the referee after the game that I felt the goal should have stood.”
