After a slow start to the season, there would have been hope that this fixture against Nottingham Forest would be the moment things started to click for Tottenham Hotspur. Instead, Spurs had to settle for a goalless draw as their wait for a first Premier League goal of the season continued.
Roberto De Zerbi made three changes from the loss against Newcastle United, with Destiny Udogie and Savio getting their first league starts of the season, and Conor Gallagher returning to the XI in favor of Mateus
Fernandes. Forest made one change, as Liam Delap was preferred to Igor Jesus up front.
This first half was full of physicality but not much quality. Both sides struggled to create clearcut scoring opportunities, with set pieces and long-range efforts the only real threats from either side. There was a sort of symmetry to the chance creation, though, as both Spurs and Forest saw attackers in behind one-on-one with the keeper only for the attacker to fail to capitalize and the referee to also call the play back. Omar Marmoush for Spurs was the first, breaking away from Neco Williams to latch onto Porro’s long ball, only for a foul to be awarded to Williams for a shove by the Egyptian; while Morgan Gibbs-White was flagged for offside as he sprinted in behind Jan Paul van Hecke.
With both sides failing to score in the first half, it looked like Forest may have opened the scoring in the second. Really poor positioning from Jan Paul van Hecke allowed Gibbs-White to get in behind; Kinsky did enough to at least deflect Gibbs-White’s shot, but Sandro Tonali whiffed on a clearance before Williams appeared to bundle the ball into the net by way of a diving header. It was a calamitous concession by Spurs, but one that did not stand for long, as replays showed the ball ended up in the net off Williams’ arms with VAR overturning the goal.
A flurry of substitutions followed from both sides as both managers searched for a winner. Neither side was able to muster the quality to create anything to break the deadlock, however, and a late headed chance from substitute Dominic Solanke that went well over the crossbar was the final chance of a reasonably low-quality affair with the match finishing 0-0.
Reactions
- Another week without a goal. Better than losing, I guess.
- I love that one of Spurs’ biggest issues last season was a lack of passing in midfield, and Spurs then went and spent over £300 million for… a lack of passing in midfield.
- That said, Rodrigo Bentancur looks a new player under De Zerbi. His midfield structures and roles look like the suit Bentancur’s style of play, with the Uruguayan looking much more comfortable than under Thomas Frank or Ange Postecoglou.
- That first half was a bit ridiculous from a physicality point of view; Craig Pawson let pretty much everything go, much to the delight of the commentators on my broadcast. In my opinion, the phrase “just a coming together” should be deleted from the English language.
- Omar Marmoush had a couple of really nice moments, without quite being able to find any end product. At the very least, his ability on the ball in build-up is far ahead of anything else Spurs have had in that department over the last few years.
- De Zerbi’s initial subs (Savio and Udogie off for Kudus and Robertson) seemed odd, with the duo two of Spurs’ best, but the changes were likely preplanned due to both making comebacks from injury.
- Wow, Spurs got lucky on that Forest goal / no-goal. Williams dove in while also trying to protect his face from Tonali’s clearance, and the ball happened to strike his hands; I’m not convinced Tonali’s second attempt at a clearance would have been successful even if Williams hadn’t been there, and overturning it when Williams’ arm being there or not had very little material impact on the outcome is exactly the kind of luck Spurs have been missing in recent years (and the correct call by the letter of the law).
- Next up: Spurs host Everton. Can the Lilywhites finally get a win on the board?
- COYS.
