Sunderland 1 – 0 Spurs

Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge of relegation-threatened Tottenham ended in a dismal 1-0 defeat to Sunderland.

The enigmatic Italian was thrust into Spurs’ hot seat with seven games remaining, and had to save the Londoners from a humiliating fate – a very different assignment to the last time he managed to succeed in the Premier League at Brighton.

The Seagulls, incidentally, will be the visitors next week when their former boss takes charge of their first home game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and he will do so from a position in the drop zone.

Tottenham remain winless in their last 14 Premier League outings, their second-longest run without a league win in club history, and are now two points from safety after taking a second-half foul at the Stadium of Light with a Nordi Mukiele strike deflected off.

Spurs showed promise in fleeting moments, De Zerbi’s imprint was visible in their pursuit, but Robin Roefs was only threatened once by Dominic Solanke. The striker blew away his effort and with it Spurs’ chance of a foothold in a game they couldn’t hit properly.

Before the end, Destiny Udogie deflected Chemsdine Talbi’s effort off the line, while captain Cristian Romero was forced to tears with an undisclosed injury. His emotional state mirrors that of Spurs’ general circumstances and now the unthinkable is a very real prospect indeed.

Sunderland, meanwhile, climb into the top half of the table as their remarkable return to the Premier League continues. The fortunes of the two teams could not have been more contrasting on another memorable afternoon for the fortunes of Tottenham Hotspur.

Carragher: Other relegation rivals have a better chance than Spurs

Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher:

“Usually a new manager comes in and you say it’s his first game, that he has to go out the window. It had to go out the window for Igor Tudor and it’s the same for Roberto de Zerbi because of where they find themselves.

“I can’t believe it. Tottenham look like they’re going to go down.

“The other teams have something going on. One point in 24?

“When you watch games you think it’s a good game for Tottenham but they’re awful. Tottenham are a good game for every other club.

“Wolves are bottom of the league. Do you think Tottenham will go there and win? No chance.”

Wake up: Spurs’ slide is real

Analysis by Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter:

What began as a day of promise for the start of the Roberto De Zerbi era ended in a crushing reality: Is this Tottenham team really good enough to stay in the Premier League?

For most of this season, the narrative has been framed differently. Those of us who comment regularly have asked the question: Are Tottenham really bad enough to be relegated? Most will answer no. But that attitude is rapidly changing.

Spurs are compelling relegation contenders. Perhaps, as Jamie Carragher hypothesized, a more compelling case than those around them given form and confidence levels.

Only Derby, Sunderland and Swindon Town have endured longer winless runs to start a calendar year in the top flight than Spurs’ current run and all three have been relegated in their respective campaigns. De Zerbi needs a miracle to avoid the same fate.

All the warning signs are there. And now, what felt like an impossibly shocking event, that had little genuine substance, feels very likely indeed.

De Zerbi: We didn’t deserve to lose

Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi:

“I think we played a good game, but not enough to win. We didn’t deserve to lose the game, but we have to accept and move on.

“We played a good game but we are suffering at this moment. We have to be stronger because we have the quality to come out of this difficult moment.

“I’m sorry about the result and the (Cristian) Romero injury. I hope for us and for him that he’s not something important.

“We had three or four clear chances to score. Everything is more difficult and we have to work in the style of play.

“We have to move on. We have to be stronger than this moment. I spoke to the players five minutes ago and said the same thing. It has been a difficult season and we are going through a difficult moment for everyone.”

Story of the match in statistics…

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