Tottenham settled for a 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground to earn their first point of the season in the Premier League.
Let us take a look at five things we learned from the match:
Tottenham have gone three games without a goal
Tottenham Hotspur ended their run of two defeats in a row in the Premier League this afternoon in their clash against Nottingham Forest.
The Lilywhites were held to a 0-0 draw at the City Ground and earned their first point of the season, a vital point that has seen them leave the foot of the Premier League table.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side did make a marked improvement in this encounter as they managed a clean sheet after shipping five goals in their last two games.
However, Spurs’ goalscoring remains a problem, as the Lilywhites failed to find the back of the net for the third time in this league campaign despite having bolstered their attack with £145 million worth of signings.
This time around, Tottenham did not even manage a shot on target, although they had a few decent chances. Omar Marmoush had a good opportunity in the second half after Antonin Kinsky played him in, while Dominic Solanke had a really good chance late on.
It was not to be, but the focus for De Zerbi’s side will be to find the back of the net in their next outing when they take on Everton.
Rodrigo Bentancur was superb for Tottenham
While Tottenham splashed the cash on several big signings across the pitch this summer, it was Rodrigo Bentancur who was the best performer for the Lilywhites against Nottingham Forest.
The Uruguayan was superb both on and off the ball, bringing much-needed composure to the middle of the park for Tottenham.
He helped to keep things ticking with his passing, while also making a match-high 18 defensive contributions against Forest, and getting his head on a few crosses into the box.
De Zerbi is well aware of the quality Bentancur brings to his side, stating on Friday that the Uruguayan is one who is needed for the balance of his midfield, and today Bentancur showed his class.
Roberto De Zerbi’s tactical tweak saw Conor Gallagher cover at right-back
De Zerbi did look to throw a tactical surprise in today’s clash between Tottenham and Forest. And perhaps that is not surprising after Glasner described De Zerbi’s sides as predictable.
The Forest boss said in his pre-match presser: “They have many options. They have invested massively in their squad, and that makes it difficult to know who will probably start. On the other side, De Zerbi has a clear way he plays with his teams.
“That makes it a little bit easier to prepare. The patterns are very obvious. They have certain ways we expect them to press us, and that is how we prepare the team.”
This afternoon, the tactical tweak saw Conor Gallagher drift to right-back to cover for Pedro Porro whenever the full-back went forward.
From his midfield set-up, it was very clear that De Zerbi was looking to create from the wings with Savio, Porro, Tel and Udogie.
While Gallagher played his role well and offered so much cover defensively, the lack of creativity from the centre remained evident all through the game.
Mateus Fernandes must not be fully fit for Spurs
De Zerbi was full of praise for Fernandes in his pre-match conference, highlighting the midfielder’s quality, especially his versatility.
Given his praise, the expectation was that the midfielder would have been involved heavily in today’s game.
However, that was not the case, with Fernandes only getting 10 minutes of football after coming off the bench.
It could simply be down to De Zerbi’s tactical tweak and what he was looking to go with in midfield, or maybe the youngster is not entirely fit and might be carrying a knock.
Regardless, given his displays from the number 10 role in the last few games, he should have got a lot more minutes.
Mykhailo Mudryk makes his Tottenham debut
Today also saw Mykhailo Mudryk make his Tottenham debut following his deadline-day switch from Chelsea to Spurs.
The wide forward replaced Tel in the 74th minute, getting a solid 16 minutes under his belt in what was his first competitive game since his return to football.
De Zerbi did reveal that Mudryk’s minutes will be managed, with the winger expected to get 15-20 minutes of football before he is thrown in from the start.
The Ukrainian, however, did not have much influence on proceedings following his introduction.