Roberto De Zerbi did not spend long reflecting on Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United before turning his attention towards West Ham.
The Spurs manager openly called on Leeds to produce the same level of performance again on the final day of the season, to the one they did against his side on Monday night. Leeds came close to a victory.
Tottenham are still deep in the relegation fight after dropping points at home to Leeds, with Spurs sitting only two points above West Ham with two matches remaining.
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De Zerbi said, as per BBC Sport, he hopes Leeds play as they did against Spurs: “We played a good game, not great, there was a big pressure. We didn’t play calm. We wanted to win immediately without patience.
“We have to fight until the end of the season. Leeds played a good game, a tough game. We hope they play like this also against West Ham in the last game, because it’s right like this,” De Zerbi continued.
Leeds showed exactly why De Zerbi wants more of the same
Leeds were already safe before travelling to north London, but they still caused Tottenham major problems throughout the contest. Mathys Tel opened the scoring before later conceding a penalty.
Attempting an overhead clearance, Tel caught Ethan Ampadu instead of the ball. If there was any doubt regarding VAR’s decision to award a penalty, Ampadu’s head wound sustained proves it was correct.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted from the spot, and Leeds continued to push for a winner rather than settling for a point despite having little left to play for in league terms.
De Zerbi’s praise for Leeds was backed up by the chances they created. Antonin Kinsky produced an outstanding save to deny Joe Rodon earlier in the game against the defender’s former club.
Tottenham then survived a huge scare in stoppage time when Sean Longstaff hit the crossbar after Kinsky tipped his effort onto it. Leeds left north London looking far more likely to feel frustrated by the result.
However, there was more controversy late on, too. James Maddison went over in the penalty area after a challenge from Lukas Nmecha, with Daniel Farke accusing his old player Maddison of gamesmanship.
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Leeds face West Ham on the final day, and De Zerbi’s comments made it clear Tottenham are already looking closely at that fixture. The Spurs manager did not hide behind clichés after the match.
Instead, he openly acknowledged both the pressure around Tottenham and the importance of Leeds maintaining the same competitive edge when they meet West Ham.
That probably says everything about where Tottenham now find themselves. Spurs could not finish the job against Leeds themselves, and De Zerbi is now hoping another strong Leeds display helps keep West Ham below them.
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