Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi has revealed that he kissed midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur in the dressing room following their 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Saturday to acknowledge the fighting spirit he wants to see from his players.
Bentancur came on in the 66th minute, replacing Lucas Bergvall, but lasted just 12 minutes before being sent off following a touchline confrontation with Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw.
The Uruguayan appeared to attempt a headbutt towards Shaw, prompting the referee to show him a straight red card.
Although De Zerbi condemned the dismissal, he said Bentancur’s reaction reflected the character Tottenham needed during a difficult period.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Italian praised his team’s performance and determination.
“Today, we showed we are a team for the first time this season. We play as a team. We suffer, we dominate the game. But in every situation, we were in the game.
“Football is like this. I think this character, I like the situation with Rodrigo [Bentacur] with the red card. We need it in this moment, this situation. Not to bring a red card, but we have not accepted the defeat. We have to not accept conceding a goal.
“We have to react in all ways we can. It’s a bad way; it’s not the right way, but I kissed Bentacur in the dressing room because we need this reaction, this type of reaction with character. Football is character,” he said.
Manchester United took the lead in the 73rd minute through Bryan Mbeumo, who finished after receiving a pass from Matheus Cunha.
However, Tottenham salvaged a point in stoppage time when Dominic Solanke headed home in the 92nd minute.
Solanke expressed satisfaction with the result, praising his teammates for their resilience after falling behind.
“The character shown was magnificent.
“A few times we haven’t reacted in the right way when going a goal down, but today we showed fight and grit. I should have had a hat-trick. I wasn’t clinical enough. I know that. But I kept going. I was getting in the right positions to put one away.
“It’s my first time being captain for a great club. To score as well. It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my career. It’s something to build on. We haven’t been good enough this (season). Hopefully this is the start of something good,” he said.
Solanke added that Tottenham had controlled much of the first half but failed to make their chances count.
“In the first half we dominated. We weren’t clinical enough , a story of the season. We could have been a few goals ahead. We’ll take a point.”
