Roberto De Zerbi has dismissed the notion that Tottenham's vital win at Aston Villa on Sunday was down to facing a heavily rotated opposition. Spurs' 2-1 victory moved them above West Ham and out of the relegation zone with three matches remaining, but much of the post-match analysis focused on Unai Emery making seven changes to his lineup following Villa's Europa League semi-final first leg at Nottingham Forest last Thursday.
De Zerbi preferred to highlight his side's performance, which has given them hope of preserving their Premier League status. Spurs next face Leeds at home on Monday, while West Ham host Arsenal on Sunday. The Italian coach also pointed out that Forest manager Vítor Pereira made eight changes for their trip to Chelsea on Monday, a match Forest won 3-1 after storming into an early 2-0 lead.
De Zerbi's Defence of His Team
“The first XI for Forest was maybe more changes than Aston Villa did, no?” De Zerbi said. “First half … 2-0 for Forest and has anyone said anything? No. Villa had Matty Cash against us, Victor Lindelöf … I don’t know how many years he played at Manchester United. They had Tyrone Mings, the captain of Villa, Ian Maatsen, one of the best left-backs in Europe.
“They had Youri Tielemans, who is normally in the starting XI … Morgan Rogers, Jadon Sancho, Ross Barkley and Tammy Abraham. It was a great first XI. I don’t know if they are better or worse than normal. I can say one thing – we played without Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Dominic Solanke, Xavi Simons, James Maddison and maybe more players. It is better if the people speak about us than we speak about them.”
Asked whether the reaction had surprised him, De Zerbi replied: “No. In Italy we are used to thinking in the bad way about this situation but it is not true. It is not true.”
Injury Updates and Future Plans
De Zerbi reported that Solanke is unlikely to be back for Leeds but “we hope he will be for the next game” against Chelsea on Tuesday week. The goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario remains out, while James Maddison has been among the substitutes for the last three games but is not yet fit to play following an anterior cruciate ligament rupture.
“He’s not ready yet to play … not for the rhythm, for the intensity of the game,” De Zerbi said. “We are playing in the Premier League, the most difficult league in terms of intensity and rhythm.”
Looking ahead, De Zerbi expressed a desire to keep João Palhinha for next season. The midfielder is on loan from Bayern Munich with a €30m option to make the deal permanent. “One hundred per cent,” De Zerbi said. “We have to start from this type of person. More than players, we need reliable people, reliable players. Palhinha is one of the best as a player, for sure. I want to see the players with the same passion, the same attitude, the same spirit, the same personality. We are lucky to have Palhinha.”
