His team drew at home against Leeds (1:1), thus maintaining a slim two-point advantage over the relegation zone.
Mathys Tel gave Spurs the lead in the 50th minute, but the young Frenchman soon turned from hero to tragic. After a corner, Tel brought down the visitors’ captain Ethan Ampadu in his own penalty area, and the referee pointed to the penalty spot after a long VAR check. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the sure scorer, setting the final 1:1.
Despite the missed opportunity to escape West Ham by a significant margin, the Italian expert is optimistic.
“I think we are going in the right direction. It will be difficult until the last minute against Everton, that’s for sure. However, after the game with Sunderland (April 12) it was hard to imagine that we would have two points more than West Ham two rounds before the end. That was my first match and we mustn’t forget the situation at that time. We won eight points in the last four matches, and West Ham also have to play against Leeds. I believe that the Leeds players will play with the same spirit and quality as today,” said De Zerbi.
When asked about young Tel’s mistake, the coach gave a paternal answer:
“He’ll get a big hug and a kiss. Nothing more, because he’s a young player and a great talent who scored a great goal. He made a mistake because of his lack of experience because he doesn’t have many games in his legs, and we have to accept that. I’m proud and happy for the mentality we showed.”
The night was also marked by an emotional moment for the home fans. James Maddison is back on the field for the first time in almost a year. The England international missed the entire season due to a serious injury sustained last summer.
At the very end of the match, Maddison fell in the visitors’ penalty area, but VAR did not intervene in Tottenham’s favor this time.
(Vijesti.ba)
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