Roberto De Zerbi admits Tottenham Hotspur are hurting after their 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool, but the Spurs boss believes a breakthrough is coming.
Tottenham were knocked out of the competition at Anfield on Tuesday night despite creating several opportunities against the Reds.
The visitors started brightly and could have taken an early lead when Lucas Bergvall found himself with a chance.
But Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili produced a stunning save to deny the Tottenham midfielder, setting the tone for a night in which Spurs were made to pay for missed chances.
Liverpool eventually found their rhythm and secured a 3-1 victory, but De Zerbi was adamant that the scoreline did not tell the full story.
The Tottenham boss believes his team created enough opportunities to score several goals and pointed to their superior shot and corner numbers as evidence of a performance that deserved more.
“We have to be stronger,” reflected Roberto.
“I think last season was a school. I think it has to be a school for everyone. Now we are unlucky, because it’s clear we have to improve many, many things, but also this night we played well, we created more chances, we shot more times, we got more corners than Liverpool. We could score more goals.”
De Zerbi was particularly frustrated by the number of clear chances Tottenham failed to convert.
He highlighted Bergvall, Mohammed Kudus and Destiny Udogie among the players who had opportunities, while Spurs also threatened after the interval.
“I remember six, seven clear chances to score. Lucas Bergvall, Kudus and Udogie. In the second half, a couple with Marmoush, one Savio, one Bergvall, another corner. I can’t say nothing today.”
Despite the disappointment of another difficult result, De Zerbi refused to dwell on the defeat.
Tottenham must now turn their attention to their next fixture against Aston Villa, with the Italian demanding the same mentality from his players.
“Now, my focus is on Villa and we have to prepare our best in the next game with this mentality to find this click.”
The Spurs manager also opened up on the emotional impact of losing, admitting that the players and staff are feeling the consequences of the latest setback.
For De Zerbi, results remain central to the job, but he believes Tottenham are still in the early stages of a new project.
“We are suffering because the results are our life, no? If we lose, we are sorry, we are sad, we are disappointed, we are frustrated. It’s tough, no? But it’s the first moment, the first part of this new project.”
De Zerbi, however, insists Tottenham’s mentality was not the problem against Liverpool.
Instead, he believes his team showed the right attitude and continued fighting until the final whistle.
“I think when we make the click… but the click is not mentality, because today we showed the right mentality, the right behaviour and we played until the end of the game.”
The Spurs boss remains convinced that once everything comes together, the results will follow.
“I think we are going to win many games and score many goals.”
That belief will now be tested against Villa.
Tottenham have shown flashes of attacking quality, but De Zerbi knows those chances must eventually become goals if his side are to turn promising performances into results.
For now, the Italian is asking for patience, consistency and one crucial breakthrough — the “click” he believes can change Tottenham’s fortunes.
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