Tottenham Rescue Point at Manchester United as De Zerbi Hails Spurs Character

Tottenham left Old Trafford with a 1-1 draw, and Roberto De Zerbi focused on one thing above all else, character. His side were heading for another damaging defeat after Bryan Mbeumo scored in the 73rd minute for Manchester United, a goal that arrived against the run of play. Then came the chaos.

Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off five minutes later for headbutting Luke Shaw, a moment that should have finished Spurs. Instead, it woke them up. Dominic Solanke headed in deep into added time to earn a point, and it was a point De Zerbi clearly valued beyond the league table.

De Zerbi backs Bentancur reaction

The Tottenham manager did not excuse the dismissal, but he made it clear he saw something useful in the emotion behind it. “I like the situation with Rodrigo and the red card,” De Zerbi said. “We need, in this moment, this situation. Not to bring a red card, but we have not to accept the defeat. We have not to accept to concede a goal.”

That is blunt, and so was his description of what followed in the dressing room. “We have to react in all ways we can. It’s a bad way. It’s not the right way. But I kissed Bentancur in the dressing room because we need this reaction, this type of reaction with character. Football is character.”

Tottenham show fight at Old Trafford

Spurs had wasted chances before going behind, but they were the better side for long periods and finally found a reward. Solanke’s late header was their first away league goal of the season, and it lifted them off the bottom of the Premier League table.

For De Zerbi, the result mattered. The performance may have mattered more. “I’m very happy because I’ve seen the right spirit, the right character. I want to start from this character, this reaction, this behaviour,” he said. “Today, we showed to be a team for the first time this season. We play as a team, we suffer, we dominate the game.”