Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham: Roberto De Zerbi’s first game as Spurs manager ended in defeat at the Stadium of Light after Nordi Mukiele’s deflected shot separated the teams.
Roberto De Zerbi failed to make an immediate impact (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
Even with a new manager, the result is the same. Roberto de Zerbi was unable to stop the rot and Tottenham, who were struggling, lost 1-0 away to Sunderland, leaving them with two points.
Nordi Mukiele’s deflected goal made the difference as Spurs suffered their 17th defeat of the season. De Zerbi is tasked with keeping Tottenham going after they parted company with manager Igor Tudor after just five Premier League games without a win.
Sunday’s visit to the North East was made even more significant as West Ham defeated Wolves 4-0, dropping Spurs into the relegation zone for the first time this season. Tottenham fans’ attention was also focused on events at the City Ground, where relegation rivals Nottingham Forest take on Aston Villa.
Here are five topics from Stadium of Light.
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1. Sunderland given VAR reprieve
Tottenham spent the first 20 minutes under Cosh before being awarded a penalty for the start of play when Randal Kolo Muani huddled inside Sunderland’s box. Referee Rob Jones pointed to the spot, but it was immediately sent to the pitchside VAR monitor.
Replays showed Kolo Muani failed to make enough contact with Omar Alderete and went down, allowing Luke Ounian to slide in with the Spurs striker already on the verge of going down. Jones quickly reversed the decision and Tottenham couldn’t complain too much.
Randall Kolo Muani was found guilty of diving (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
2. Spurs problems
Brian Brobbey, who picked up where he left off against Newcastle before the international break, was a pain in the neck of Tottenham’s defense all afternoon. By half-time, three of Spurs’ four-man backline had been shown yellow cards, and Blobby was responsible for all of them.
First, Cristian Romero brought him down with a late challenge, then 10 minutes later Micky van de Ven tripped his Dutch compatriot and gifted him a free-kick, which Pedro Polo disapproved of and he was booked as well. Blobby also came closest to taking the lead, but he headed in an early chance and was denied by Antonin Kinski, who was recalled just before half-time.
Brian Brobbey was a handful for Tottenham (Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
3. When you’re unlucky…
With De Zerbi preparing to make three changes with an hour remaining, Sunderland’s deadlock was broken by fortuitous circumstances. Mukiele made a driving run from right-back, cutting inside Conor Gallagher and found himself in acres of space.
The Frenchman hit a fly ball with his weak left foot, and a desperate deflection from Van de Ven sent the ball looping into the back of the net, with Kinski already drifting to the other side. De Zerbi nevertheless moved forward and made changes, giving Tottenham half an hour to find a response.
Nordi Mukiele breaks the deadlock with the foot of Micky van de Ven (Image: ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)
4. Romero in tears after a nasty crash
A few minutes after the goal, Romero was involved in a nasty collision with his own goalkeeper. This was brought about by a nudge from Blobby, the Tottenham captain, who came forward as Sunderland were threatening to double their lead.
Romero appeared to injure his leg by colliding with Kinky’s head, and the Spurs keeper was bleeding and had to be tied up like Terry Butcher. Kevin Danso replaced the captain eight minutes late.
Will Tottenham survive? Let us know your predictions in the comments section.
Cristian Romero was emotional after being sent off (Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
5. Forest makes Tottenham’s woes even worse
Even if the defeat wasn’t too bad for Tottenham, Forest still picked up a point at home in favor of Villa. Vitor Pereira’s side were trailing 1-0, but fought back before the break with Neco Williams scoring an equalizer from on target.
Forest held on for a draw thanks to a shocking mistake from Morgan Rodgers and are now three points ahead of Spurs in 16th place. Of course, the same can be said about Sunderland, who have moved into the top half with consecutive wins. It is noticeable from the Black Cats.
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