Roberto De Zerbi has revealed what he told Mathys Tel after the Tottenham forward had a rollercoaster second-half against Leeds United.
Tel looked set to become the hero who finally put Tottenham in the driving seat to clinch survival in the Premier League when he curled a beauty into the top corner on 50 minutes.
However, the forward went from hero to villain just 24 minutes later as he inexplicably attempted an overhead kick inside Spurs’ own box, only to catch Etham Ampadu.
The referee had no choice but to point to the spot when VAR asked him to rewatch the incident, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin stepped up to convert, ensuring that the points were shared.
Roberto De Zerbi says he is proud of Tottenham forward Mathys Tel
With just two points separating Spurs and West Ham, the Lilywhites may yet look back on the penalty they gave away as a defining one in their quest to avoid the drop.
However, De Zerbi excused Tel for his mistake, pointing to the forward’s lack of experience, and sang the 21-year-old’s praises for his superb strike earlier in the half.
When asked what he told the Frenchman after the game, De Zerbi responded (via Football.London): “A big hug and a big kiss. Nothing more because he is a young player, he is a big talent, and he scored a great goal.
“He made a mistake for the experience because he has not the right experience, and he has not played too many games in his career. We have to accept, but I am proud, and I am happy for the mentality we show.
“We didn’t play a great game like in Villa Park, we played a good game and did enough to win. We could lose the game at the end because before the last 15 to 20 minutes, they didn’t shoot on our goal and just one in the first half.
“We had 14 corners against two, five chances to score against two, we came inside of the goal area 50 times against 27, but we didn’t score two goals.”
Things could have turned out much worse for Spurs against Leeds
It may be hard for the Spurs players to accept that they have only two points to show from their last two games against Brighton and Leeds, both of which they had big chances to win.
However, things could have ended in heartbreak for Tottenham towards the end, with Leeds having a couple of big chances.
While the decision to deny James Maddison a penalty was extremely frustrating from a Spurs perspective, the home side may have been staring down the barrel of a defeat if not for Antonin Kinsky’s heroics towards the end.