Football NewsDaily Mail FootballUnverified source· 20 Sept 2026
De Zerbi vents as Spurs crumble again in familiar collapse
Tottenham's boss skipped the dressing room and took his frustration straight to the cameras after another self-inflicted defeat.
R. De Zerbi
coach
Fixture
Tottenham vs Aston Villa
Result
Spurs beaten
First goal
John Manzambi
Second goal
Villa, on the break
What happened. Roberto De Zerbi chose not to address his players after Tottenham's defeat by Aston Villa, instead criticising their inability to recognise and react to key moments in his press conference. Spurs had played well for half an hour, failed to score, then gifted Villa the opener when Andy Robertson gave the ball away inside his own box.
- Manzambi scored his first Villa goal after Robertson's error in first-half stoppage time.
- Spurs were down to ten men with Micky van de Ven off having a facial cut treated.
- Mohamed Kudus had a goal overturned by VAR before Villa scored a second on the break.
“Even if it's not going well or we don't score, we need to stay calm and keep doing the things we need to do.”
— Micky van de Ven
De Zerbi's side face questions over leadership and confidence after a summer spend of nearly £400m on ten Premier League-experienced signings.
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