De Zerbi suffers debut defeat as Spurs crisis deepens
Roberto De Zerbi took charge of Tottenham for the first time at Sunderland (ANDY BUCHANAN) Tottenham's Premier League plight deepened with a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland on Sunday in Roberto De Zerbi's first match in charge before Manchester City try to close the gap on leaders Arsenal. Spurs brought in the former Brighton and Marseille boss at the end of last month in a last-ditch bid to save themselves from a catastrophic relegation. But the Italian failed to inspire his team in a tricky baptism at Sunderland and his team remain mired in the drop zone.
Tottenham, playing under their third manager this season, are without a Premier League win since December as they contemplate the nightmare of a first relegation from the English top flight since 1977. The visitors looked bright in the opening stages and were awarded a penalty that was subsequently overturned by VAR. De Zerbi's team were grateful to goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, who was out quickly to smother a Brian Brobbey shot at point-blank range shortly before half-time, while Robin Roefs denied Dominic Solanke at the other end.
Sunderland took the lead courtesy of a huge slice of luck on the hour, when Nordi Mukiele's shot took a massive deflection off Micky van de Ven and looped into the goal. De Zerbi made three changes, bringing on Joao Palhinha, Pape Matar Sarr and Mathys Tel and then lost captain Cristian Romero to injury. Spurs pushed hard for an equaliser late on but Roefs tipped over a powerful Pedro Porro effort in stoppage time.
De Zerbi said his men were suffering a crisis of confidence, arguing that a win would change everything. "I can be a big brother, father, they don't need a coach," he told the BBC. "They don't need to improve football.
"They can play better and they will play better once we reach a different level of confidence. " Tottenham, who recently parted ways with interim boss Igor Tudor, are two points behind 17th-placed West Ham and have six games left to save themselves. They are the ninth-wealthiest club in the world, according to Deloitte's latest rankings, underlining the extraordinary nature of their predicament.