De Zerbi on medical staff encouraging subs which cost Spurs momentum
Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi says his medical team encouraged him to sub off Savio and Destiny Udogie midway through the second half – and that disrupted Spurs’ play at Nottingham Forest.
After a difficult first half, Spurs were on top in the first part of the second period. But Forest wrestled back momentum and Spurs finished the goalless draw without a shot on target.
“The second half, I’m sorry because the medical staff pushed to change Savinho and Udogie after 60 minutes,” De Zerbi told Sky Sports.
“[Replacements Mohammed] Kudus and [Andy] Robertson, they played very well. But two substitutions in that moment was not so good.
“But now we can’t take risk to injury again. Savio is too important for us. The same Destiny. Maybe we lost some balance, some connection.
“But we have to respect Nottingham because they played always second ball, always long ball, we know their style is very clear and we fight with Delap in the first half and Jesus in the second half.”
Wayward finishing stalls Spurs progress
“A first point but still no Premier League goal this season for Spurs.
“They actually finished the game with the same number of shots as Forest, three times as many touches in the opposition box and double the Expected Goals total.
“But Marmoush, in particular, failed to bring the cutting-edge quality in the final third, while Van de Ven and Solanke wasted good crosses with poor headers.
“A small step forward for De Zerbi’s project? Perhaps. But not the performance or result to ignite their supporters’ hopes and convince them yet that, after the big summer spend, this season is going to be substantially better than the last.”
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