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Roberto De Zerbi has revealed why he is very positive about Tottenham’s chances of remaining in the Premier League after watching his side’s showing against Brighton.
In De Zerbi’s first home game in charge, Spurs played with the kind of attacking intent and confidence that we have hardly seen from them all season.
However, they only have one point to show for it, with Brighton fighting back to level twice during stoppage time at the end of each half.
The result means that Tottenham will now spend at least another week in the relegation zone, with time running out for the Lilywhites to avoid the ultimate disaster.
Roberto De Zerbi insists Tottenham deserved to win against Brighton
The Spurs head coach was very complimentary of the performance his side produced and the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
While he conceded that he was disappointed by the result, he insisted that he was proud of what he saw from his players.
When asked if the result felt like a defeat, given how late Brighton equalised, De Zerbi told Football.London: “Yeah, yes, because we played a good game. Brighton is a very good team. In this moment, they are playing very well. But I think we deserve to win the game, especially if you consider we conceded a goal in extra time when losing one ball in our possession. But anyway, I’m very proud for the performance of my players.
“I’m very proud because they gave all of them their best, with the right mentality, with the right blood, with the right character. We played well with the ball. We played maybe better in the first half without the ball because in the second half we suffered too much with] the ball possession.
“But in the first half, we regained a lot of ball. When we scored with Pedro Porro, we regained the ball very high. And I’m disappointed just for the result, for my players and for the fans, because it was an incredible atmosphere today. In a very tough situation, a very difficult moment, but the stadium was great, it was amazing.”
De Zerbi believes Spurs can win their five remaining matches
Even though the result leaves Tottenham in an extremely precarious position, De Zerbi saw enough in the performance to make him confident about his side’s survival chances.
In fact, he suggested that if Tottenham maintain the same spirit and mentality, they could win all five of their remaining league games.
When asked if he is more confident of survival than he was before the game, De Zerbi said: “Yes, I always thought and believed in the quality of the players. They played a good game, I think we can play better than today with much more quality and more calm, especially when we are in possession, but in this moment we need this spirit, this attitude and this mentality. It is not finished yet. We have another five games. It is tough. Every one of us knows it is a tough moment, it is a difficult situation, but we have another five games and 15 points.
“This team is able to win five games in a row. Now it is difficult to hear my words, but if you watch the players and analyse the level of the players, I think we can win five games in a row. Not to be arrogant because I am not arrogant, especially now but we have the quality enough to fight and win games in a row.”
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