Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi kissed Rodrigo Bentancur after red card
Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi revealed he kissed Rodrigo Bentancur in the dressing room after the midfielder was sent off for a headbutt on Luke Shaw.
The Uruguayan substitute received his marching orders in the 78th minute of Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United following a heated altercation with the defender. Shaw had confronted Bentancur following a rash tackle, only for the midfielder to lean in with his head.
A fiery clash at Old Trafford
Despite being reduced to ten men whilst 1-0 down following Bryan Mbeumo’s opening goal, Spurs rallied and grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser when Dominic Solanke headed home in the 92nd minute.
Rather than chastising his player for the moment of madness, De Zerbi defended Bentancur’s fire and insisted the squad desperately required that exact level of fight.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, De Zerbi said:
“We have to react in all ways we can. It is a bad way, not the right way, but I kiss Bentancur in the dressing room because we need this type of reaction with character.”
The Italian elaborated on his unusual post-match dressing room gesture when speaking to reporters in his subsequent media duties.
Addressing reporters in his pre-match press conference, De Zerbi said:
“I kiss Rodrigo and say thanks. In that moment maybe with 10 players we played with more courage, more energy. For a long time Tottenham played without this blood, this character.”
Spurs show signs of life despite poor start
The hard-earned point lifts Tottenham off the foot of the table, though they remain inside the Premier League relegation zone with just three points from their opening six fixtures. It represents only the fourth time in the club’s history that they have failed to win any of their first six league matches.
Goalscoring has proved a major issue, with only 19th-placed Coventry City scoring fewer than Tottenham’s tally of three league goals so far. However, De Zerbi was delighted with how his team controlled large spells of the game against United, particularly in a dominant first-half display.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, De Zerbi said:
“Today we showed we are a team for the first time this season, we suffer, we dominate the game. With every situation in the game we were in the game.”
Off to Marbella before Coventry test
Spurs invested heavily in the summer, spending over £250 million to recruit 10 new players, but they are still searching for cohesion on the pitch.
Speaking to reporters in his post-match press conference, De Zerbi said:
“Now the target is to build the team. We are a great group of players but we are not a team yet and to be a team is to play for the team-mates, suffer together, attack together.”
To accelerate that bonding process, Tottenham are flying out to Marbella on Sunday for a warm-weather training camp during the break. They resume their Premier League campaign on Monday, 19 October against Coventry City before visiting Chelsea the following weekend.
