Roberto De Zerbi praised Tottenham after their win at Aston Villa but warned supporters not to forget how close the club came to the drop just weeks earlier.
Spurs suffered a loss to Sunderland on April 12 and then drew 2-2 with De Zerbi’s former side Brighton six days later. Those results left Tottenham 18th in the table before the trip to Wolves on April 25, sitting just two points from safety. Since then, back-to-back league wins — first over the division’s bottom side and then against Champions League-chasing Villa — have given Spurs consecutive league victories for the first time since the opening two games of the season and moved them above West Ham into 17th with three games left.
After the win at Villa Park, De Zerbi said his team matched up well against a strong Villa side, controlling large parts of the game both with and without the ball. He felt they could have scored more, especially in the first half, and noted the only real negative was the goal they conceded. Overall he said he was proud of how the players endured a difficult season.
De Zerbi stressed the campaign is far from over. He reminded everyone they must keep the precarious recent form in mind as Tottenham face three tricky fixtures, beginning with Leeds on Monday night. He singled out Leeds as a team playing well and deserving of their position, and said the squad must carry the memory of earlier struggles with them in preparation.
Tactically De Zerbi praised his players’ high press and their calm possession play. He highlighted moments when the team attacked space or took shots and other times when they retained the ball sensibly. De Zerbi said his role is to prepare the squad and put players in the right condition to show what they can do.
Conor Gallagher was singled out as man of the match, with De Zerbi saying the team almost played like it had an extra player when Gallagher was influencing the game. He also commended Randal Kolo Muani, Mathys Tel, Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur and the centre-backs for strong performances both on and off the ball.
Gallagher called the display a fantastic performance and exactly what the team needed. He said the players executed what they had worked on in training and hoped the result would kick-start a run of form, boosting confidence for the final matches. He also praised De Zerbi, saying the manager has brought the squad together, boosted confidence and begun to bring the best out of players.
Remaining fixtures for the teams involved:
Leeds remaining fixtures
– Tottenham (A)
– Brighton (H)
– West Ham (A)
Nottingham Forest remaining fixtures
– Chelsea (A)
– Newcastle (H)
– Man Utd (A)
– Bournemouth (H)
Tottenham remaining fixtures
– Leeds (H)
– Chelsea (A)
– Everton (H)
West Ham remaining fixtures
– Arsenal (H)
– Newcastle (A)
– Leeds (H)