Tottenham Hotspur coach Roberto De Zerbe insisted that Richarlison's position has not changed despite the team's offensive difficulties, stressing that the Brazilian striker will continue to miss the match against Liverpool in the third round of the League Cup on Tuesday.
Tottenham did not score any goals in their first four matches in the English Premier League this season, settling for only two points, which increased the pressure on De Zerbe after the club concluded 10 deals during the summer transfer period.
The goalless draw against Everton at the weekend extended Tottenham's streak of scoring drought to four consecutive league matches, marking the club's worst offensive start ever in the competition.
On the other hand, Richarlison dropped out of the team's accounts in the English Premier League, and his transfer faltered in the final hours of the summer transfer market.
De Zerbe told reporters on Monday: “The situation is as it is.”
He added: “At the beginning of the season, I spoke to him several times to convince him to stay, but he did not want to. "I cannot go to him every day and ask him to stay."
This decision deprives Tottenham of a player who has a good record against Liverpool. He scored four goals in seven matches against the team.
Despite the faltering start offensively, De Zerbe expressed his confidence in the ability of the reshaped offensive line to improve as the physical readiness of the players increases and they adapt more to his tactical style.
Dominic Solanke, who joined this summer, Savio and Omar Marmoush, along with Mohamed Quddus, Connor Callagher and Matthias Till, did not leave an impressive offensive impact during the first weeks of the season.
De Zerbe said: “Solanke is a good player, and I am confident in his ability to improve. He has to improve his physical preparation and maintain his self-confidence, because he is capable of scoring a good number of goals with us.”
He added: “Savio and Marmoush did not participate in a large number of matches with Manchester City because they were not key players. The situation here is different, the responsibility is greater, and they must adapt to that and realize that circumstances have changed. But in terms of quality, they are both excellent players.”
De Zerbe confirmed the absence of Sandro Tonali, the most expensive signing in the club's history, due to a minor injury, adding that striker Dejan Kulusevski and defender Pedro Porro will also continue to be absent.
The Spanish Football League competitions are entering a new round of early struggle for the summit between Barcelona and Real Madrid, in light of the three-point difference that separates the two traditional rivals, with each of them looking forward to continuing victories and maintaining a moral advantage in a race that seems likely to be intense until the final stages of the season.
Barcelona leads the competition table with 15 points, after achieving the full score in its first five matches, while Real Madrid occupies second place with 12 points, with both teams confirming from the beginning that they will be the most prominent parties in the competition for the league title, even though the season is still in its early stages.
Real Madrid will play its next match tomorrow (Tuesday) when it visits Elche at Martinez Valero Stadium, searching for a third successive victory in all competitions, while Barcelona will host Racing Santander the day after tomorrow evening (Wednesday) at Camp Nou Stadium, in a task that theoretically seems easier for the leaders of the competition.
Real Madrid hopes to exploit the confrontation against Elche to put pressure on Barcelona, before the Catalan team plays its match the next day, as Real Madrid knows that any new stumble may increase the difference with its direct competitor, at a time when Barcelona seeks to maintain its perfect record and confirm its position at the top of the table.
Elche started the season disappointingly, after the summer witnessed major changes within the club, the most prominent of which was the departure of coach Eder Sarabia, in addition to the departure of a number of key players, including David Affengruber and Alex Vibas.
Argentine Martin Anselmi, the former coach of Porto and Botafogo, took over the responsibility of leading the team in its second consecutive season in the Spanish First Division, but he found himself under early pressure after failing to achieve victory during his first five matches.
After the draw with Deportivo La Coruna, Elche suffered 3 consecutive defeats against Barcelona, Racing Santander and Real Sociedad, before drawing 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao at San Mames Stadium.
Elche appeared on their way to achieving their first win of the season when Facundo Buonanotti scored the lead goal from a penalty kick in the 50th minute, but Iñaki Williams equalized about 10 minutes before the end, leaving the team satisfied with one point.
Although returning from San Mames Stadium with a draw is an acceptable result, Anselmi realizes that his team urgently needs to improve its defensive level, after conceding 13 goals in 5 matches, making it the second-worst defense in the competition.
The Argentine coach is seeking to take advantage of the confrontation with Real Madrid to get out of his crisis, and achieve a victory that will have a major impact on the team’s situation, but he faces an extremely difficult task against a team that regained its offensive balance in the last round.
Elche also has a historical motivation, as it is looking to achieve its first victory over Real Madrid in 48 years, but repeating the result of last season, when the two teams’ confrontation at Martinez Valero Stadium ended in a draw, may be the most realistic goal for the homeowners.
On the other hand, Real Madrid enters the confrontation in high spirits, having achieved 4 victories in its first 5 league matches during the second term of coach Jose Mourinho, leaving it only 3 points away from Barcelona.
Real Madrid scored 10 goals during 3 consecutive victories in the league, before suffering a sudden setback with a 0-1 loss to Real Betis, in a match during which Kylian Mbappe missed a penalty kick, and an attempt by Carlos Espe was cancelled.
But Real Madrid quickly regained its balance with a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan, Mourinho's former team, in a positive start to its journey towards competing for its sixteenth Champions League title.
Real Madrid regained its balance in the Spanish League with a convincing 4-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, in a match during which Mbappe excelled by scoring two goals, while Alvaro Carreras and Jude Bellingham added the other two goals.
The victory over Rayo was a clear offensive message from Real Madrid, which scored 4 goals in each of its last three matches at home in the league, but it still needs to improve its numbers away from home, after scoring only two goals in its first two matches away from home.
Real Madrid also has a strong record in its recent visits to Martinez Valero Stadium, having achieved 6 victories in its last 8 visits, since its 3-1 loss to Elche in March 1978.
On the other hand, Barcelona's mission on Wednesday will be to maintain the ideal start that put it at the top of the standings, when it hosts Racing Santander, which recently returned to the top flight, and which ranks tenth with 7 points.
Barcelona appears to be at its best offensively since the beginning of the season, having achieved 5 consecutive victories in the league, during which it scored 21 goals, before continuing its brilliance with a 4-2 victory over Levante, then achieving a major 5-1 victory over Feyenoord at the beginning of its Champions League campaign.
Barcelona leads the competition by 3 points against Real Madrid, which is a very small difference at this early stage, but it gives the Catalan team a temporary psychological advantage, especially since it has a perfect record in the league.
Brazilian Rafinha and young winger Lamine Yamal stand out as Barcelona's most important offensive weapons, after each of them has scored 6 goals in the competition so far, while Rafinha offers distinctive levels when moving from deep.
The Catalan team's strong start indicates that it has the offensive power necessary to continue reaping victories, but the match against Racing may represent a test of Barcelona's ability to deal with competitors who resort to defense and rely on quick transitions.
Barcelona has a clear historical advantage in its confrontations against Racing, after the two teams met in 101 matches in all competitions, during which the Catalan team achieved 63 victories compared to 17 for Racing.
Racing has not achieved a victory over Barcelona since January 2004, while the last 8 confrontations between the two teams ended in successive victories for the Catalan team.
Despite the difficulty of the task, Racing enters the match with great confidence after making an encouraging start following its return to the First Division, after being crowned champion of the Second Division last season.
The team occupies tenth place with 7 points from two victories, a draw and two defeats, and its last victory was at the expense of Alaves with a score of 2-1.
Racing scored 9 goals in its first five matches, but conceded the same number, which is the highest goal conceding rate among the teams in the top 11 positions, and also lost its two matches away from home in the league this season.
In tomorrow's matches, Rayo Vallecano will meet Espanyol, and Alaves will meet Valencia, in addition to the match between Real Madrid and Elche.
In Wednesday's matches, Atletico Madrid will meet Osasuna, Levante will meet Athletic Bilbao, Deportivo will meet Sevilla, Real Betis will meet Getafe, Malaga will meet Villarreal, in addition to the match between Barcelona and Racing.
