Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham reign starts with 1-0 defeat at Sunderland
Roberto De Zerbi began his Tottenham Hotspur reign with a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Sunderland on Sunday.
The result leaves the Lilywhites in the relegation zone, with two points behind 17th-placed West Ham United.
De Zerbi will have just six more matches to save Tottenham after taking over from Igor Tudor as the club’s new head coach.
The visitors made a bright start to the game, but they were fortunate not to concede when Cristian Romero made a mess of a backheeled clearance.
Spurs were awarded a penalty against the run of play when Randal Kolo Muani collided with Omar Alderete and Luke O’Nien inside the box.
However, referee Rob Jones was forced to overturn his decision after he was sent to the pitchside monitor for a second look.
Tottenham had a big chance just before half-time, but Robin Roefs denied Dominic Solanke with a brilliant save.
Sunderland took the lead just after the hour mark through Nordi Mukiele.
The 28-year-old cut in from the right and lashed a shot from 20 yards out, which took a huge deflection off Micky van de Ven and looped into the back of the net.
De Zerbi made a triple change, with Mathys Tel, Pape Matar Sarr and Joao Palhinha replacing Richarlison, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray.
However, Tottenham failed to carve out any major chances as Sunderland held on to secure an excellent home victory.