Tottenham have been handed their 16th Premier League defeat of the season by Sunderland.
Roberto De Zerbi’s appointment during the March international break was intended to provide not only a long-term identity for Tottenham Hotspur, but also to save the club from relegation right now.
Spurs suffered a big blow to their hopes of staying in the top flight on Friday when relegation rivals West Ham battered Wolves 4-0 at home. This resulted in Roberto De Zerbi and Co. dropping to 18th in the table. It was now Tottenham’s turn to prove their mettle by beating Sunderland and immediately getting out of the relegation zone. However, that was not the case.
De Zerbi’s first game in charge ended in a massive disappointment, as his boys fell to a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. Right-back Nordi Mukiele’s deflected strike off Micky van de Ven handed the Black Cats a famous win and piled more misery on the Lilywhites. Winless in the Premier League across the calendar year, a defeat at Sunderland means Tottenham are now staring down the barrel of relegation and no longer have their destiny in their own hands.
Micky van de Ven “devastated” after Sunderland defeat
Following the slender defeat to Sunderland on Sunday, Micky van de Ven shared his reaction to the match and how it unfolded. He rued Tottenham’s misfortune against Sunderland, with Mukiele’s winning coming with a huge slice of luck.
“I’m devastated that we lost today,” Van de Ven said in his interview with the club’s official channel.
“We didn’t play a bad game and created chances, while not conceding many chances. Their goal gets a strange deflection, so we were a bit unlucky.
“We’ve trained really well this week, and next week we want it to be the same and hopefully get the points next weekend.
“Nothing is going our way for the last couple of months. As I say, a deflected goal and a penalty taken away from us. We just need to find the momentum to turn things around.”
Indeed, Spurs have been extremely unlucky at times this season. An unprecedented injury situation has not helped their cause, while small moments in certain games have completely changed the outcome and resulted in Tottenham dropping points. Similarly, on Sunday, a collective performance that showed more organisation and determined effort was ultimately undone by a moment of misfortune rather than any shocking defending or individual blunder.
Cristian Romero suffered a knee injury following a collision with Antonin Kinsky in the second half against Sunderland. He might end up missing the rest of the season with a possible MCL rupture, which would then be a massive blow for De Zerbi’s side. In Romero’s potential absence, Van de Ven, whose performance levels have dipped in the last few months, must step up and lead the team by example.