Roberto De Zerbi says Tottenham struggle to 'unblock ourselves' as goalless streak extends to four games

A 0-0 draw with Everton leaves Tottenham improved but still in desperate need of attacking punch

Sep 12, 2026 at 4:05 pm ET • 5 min read

LONDON -- Tottenham strained, they struggled and they pushed but the great goal blockage remains stubbornly unbroken. For all that Tottenham might have got right with their four hundred million dollars of summer expenditure, this is still not a team that is flowing all the way from one end to the other.

First, the good. With Jan Paul van Hecke and Mateus Fernandes in the side, advancing the ball up the field is no longer the agonising battle through the midfield trenches it once was. There is verve on the flanks too, while, a wobble with the ball at Antonin Kinsky's feet notwithstanding, Tottenham looked far less vulnerable without possession than they did for most of the last two seasons. "In Italy I would be the best coach," laughed Roberto De Zerbi. "Two games [following on from the draw at Nottingham Forest], two clean sheets."

On the balance of what happened outside both boxes, they were good value for more than the point they got from this 0-0 draw at home to Everton. Unfortunately for De Zerbi, very few Premier League matches are won outside the penalty areas. It is what happens when you have the whites of the goalkeeper's eyes in view that matters. And that is where Tottenham look, well, ermmm as their manager put it, a bit backed up.

"There is a word in Italian that literally translates, if we unblock ourselves, I think the team is extremely strong. We can score goals and we can win games.

"I came last season when the shit was like this, you know? Shit, I repeat. I've always been not positive, but realistic. Now I explain, I'm sorry for the results, but the improvement is not immediate. It's not immediate to make a team."

Nor was it immediate to get a decent shot away. Not until Lucas Bergvall nearly bent an 89th-minute shot into the bottom corner could Tottenham say they had really tested Jordan Pickford and even that opening was handed to them by England's No.1. Spurs' pursuit of their first goal of the Premier League season was agonising and not just for those on the pitch. 

"Please score a goal" read a placard held aloft after the final whistle. Two shades of blue, the consistency of coloring between the lines, the pair of badges: this was not hastily cobbled together in the toilets at half-time. Someone had made the journey to N17 to plead with their team.

By the final whistle, others were less inclined to ask. In front of an increasingly miffed home support, Spurs asked the question of whether it is possible to have true control of a game when you do not have the threat to keep your opponents on their toes. They would depart the field to a smattering of boos, De Zerbi giving Mathys Tel a very public coaching session that seemed to be related to his positioning when he received a pass.

"He's a striker, he can play with his shoulder to goal," said De Zerbi. "The striker has to look at the goal.

"I love Mathys as a player, as a guy. There is not a problem."

One very notable incident had drawn the ire of the fans late on, Tel receiving the ball in space around halfway with his back to goal and immediately knocking it back to his defenders. This was not, however, an isolated incident. Moments earlier Lucas Bergvall had crashed through Everton bodies, squirming the ball to Mohamed Kudus as he fell to the deck only to then receive a sideways pass straight back to him. 

After a bright start where Fernandes and Archie Gray took it in turns to crash the inside right channel, Spurs ran out of zip. De Zerbi teams have always been prepared to build patiently before aggressively moving the ball upfield when their opponent commits. Against an opponent like Everton, who soon concluded that they would rather not push up to chase Van Hecke and Micky van de Ven, the challenge is going to be breaking down a settled defense.

It was one that looked well beyond a side who ended this game with 0.64 expected goals (xG) off 14 shots. Only twice did Pickford have to make a save, neither of which came from shots within the box. An early, rising flick at the back post from Van Hecke off an Andy Robertson free kick was the only shot Spurs took worth more than 0.1 xG (0.14 to be precise). Their back four combined for five shots. Their front three delivered just three.

What made this nullified attack all the more curious was that Tottenham did so much of the rest so well. They created 37 touches for themselves in the penalty area, 50% more than the average Premier League game last season. Fernandes looked a sparky presence early on and you could imagine how the 22 year old might develop into the sort of box-crashing midfielder who does not need the extra touches he took today.

Most of Spurs' expenditure, however, went on more known commodities and they cannot say that they have not got what they might have expected. Savio is as Savinho was, a player who receives the ball in dangerous areas but often does not do enough with it. The tone for his game was set early on when a sprawling Vitaliy Mykolenko blocked his cross. Savio had time and took it, so much of it that Mykolenko could scrabble back to block the next attempt.

In 63 minutes Dominic Solanke delivered no shots, no shot assists and his 11 completed passes were worth just 0.01 expected assists. You could tell that Omar Marmoush was used to shadowing a better class of forward. This is all rather individualized assessment and that is for good reason. This radically overhauled squad has not had long to build any rhythm as an XI. De Zerbi firmly believes that time will be a great ally for him.

"We started this season too late," he said. "Many players were at the World Cup, many injuries in Australia [on the pre-season tour]. Mateus Fernandes, Micky van de Ven, Dominic Solanke. We bought two players late, Savio and Marmoush.

"I started to work with this group two Thursdays ago. I think we do not have the right physical condition yet. We played very well the first 30 minutes, and then maybe the energy [dropped]. Maybe the fact we didn't score, maybe we lost some players a little confidence.

"We have to be not positive, but realistic. If we extend that part of the game, 30 minutes, to 70, 80, 90, in my opinion, in my belief, we're going to win many games." For now, clearing the goal blockage might just be enough for some Tottenham fans.