Savio Debuts With a Goal and an Assist at Tottenham, but De Zerbi Asks for More

Savio made his debut with a goal and an assist in Tottenham's rout in the EFL Cup, but Roberto De Zerbi was clear, the Brazilian needs to score more goals.

A dream debut for Savio

Tottenham had a night of celebration in the EFL Cup by thrashing Charlton Athletic 5-1, and the star of the show was Savio, the new Brazilian signing who made his debut with a goal and an assist. The young player came on in the 71st minute, when the match was already 3-0 thanks to goals from Mikey Moore, Dominic Solanke, and Kevin Danso. Just eleven minutes later, Savio drove in from the right and made a cross shot to beat goalkeeper Tiernan Brooks. Shortly after, he appeared again with another shot that ended up in the net after a deflection off Ben Davies, also adding an assist in his debut.

Praise and demand

Coach Roberto De Zerbi celebrated the immediate impact of his new player but made it clear that he expects more. "Yes, it was a perfect day for him. But I think his biggest step and improvement is to increase the number of goals. With his qualities, he is one of the best wingers, but the best wingers score a lot of goals. We set a target of between 10 and 12 goals for him because we need those goals from the wingers," he explained. Savio arrives in London after an £85 million transfer, having contributed 20 goal involvements in 84 matches with Manchester City. The expectation is that he will become a decisive attacker to fight for titles.

Next challenge: Liverpool

The victory left the Spurs with seven wins in their last eight EFL Cup matches at home. Now they will face Liverpool in the third round, a rival that already eliminated them in the semifinals in the 2024-25 edition. "It's a great challenge for the players, for me, for the club. We have to be ready to play with our style and personality," assured De Zerbi. On the other hand, Charlton once again bid farewell to the competition early, unable to get past the second round since 2022-23. His coach Nathan Jones acknowledged the difference in hierarchy and lamented the injuries of Collins Sichenje and Billy Koumetio: "The Premier League teams are on another level. We can't compete with that. It has been a disastrous night with injuries."