De Zerbi's comments about Tottenham over the weekend have created some "enemies" in Italy.

De Zerbi has been told to "win more and joke less" ahead of Tottenham's match against Liverpool.

Tottenham's manager hopes his team can end their goalscoring drought when they visit Liverpool in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Tottenham has failed to score in three consecutive matches, with their last goal coming against Charlton Athletic in the previous round of the domestic cup competition late last month. Despite Tottenham's attacking struggles, De Zerbi remained satisfied with his team's defensive display.

After his team earned another 0-0 draw and was interviewed by reporters over the weekend, Tottenham's manager joked that such a performance would be enough to make him "the best manager" in Italy.

De Zerbi said: "It's a psychological barrier because we haven't won or scored in four matches."

"This is difficult for the players too because they are human beings, and they are all good people. I ask them to trust me because if I could maintain positivity last season, why can't I do the same this season? I don't understand."

De Zerbi added: "For example, in Italy, I should be the best manager now, right? Two matches, two clean sheets. Two clean sheets? (Turning to Italian journalists) What will you write tomorrow? Clean sheets or no goals? Tell me what you actually want to write. I think I'm right."

Corriere della Sera was unforgiving, criticizing De Zerbi for belittling his homeland to please English journalists. The Italian newspaper also referenced Italy's "glorious history" in international competitions.

"Italy is getting closer to Europe," Corriere della Sera wrote, a passage quoted by Sport Witness and shared via NapoliZista. "Perhaps soon we won't be mocked by De Zerbi anymore. He's having trouble at Tottenham, but the other day, to escape that, he mocked us. 'I kept two clean sheets in a row: in Italy, they would say I'm the best.' The English journalists in the room laughed.

"Mr. De Zerbi, please stop mocking your own country. This nation may be struggling now, but it has a glorious history, having won four World Cups, while England has won only one. He should at least have more Italian spirit, achieve more results, and joke less. If he can do that."

Meanwhile, La Gazzetta dello Sport's response was far more pragmatic. They pointed out that Tottenham is in the early stages of a new project and the club has "tremendous potential" waiting to be unleashed.

Website AF đã ra mắt! Xem tin tức đầy đủ, bình luận, chi tiết trận đấu và thống kê trên máy tính. Truy cập: www.allfootballapp.com