De Zerbi's Frustration After Tottenham's Collapse Against Villa
Roberto De Zerbi did not wait for the applause that never came. At full time of a chaotic 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa, he went straight down the tunnel, leaving behind a storm of boos and a Tottenham side drifting into the international break with no Premier League win and only two points to show for it.
What followed was brutal.
“I am very disappointed, sad and frustrated for the performance,” the Italian said. “We can’t lose the game in this way, we can’t concede the second goal, we can’t lose balance just because we are losing.”
Tottenham had led, played well in spells and again reached the hour mark in decent shape. Then the structure fell apart. De Zerbi’s anger was not just about the result; it was about how his team disintegrated once they were behind.
He revealed he had tried to get control of the situation early in the second half.
“I spoke with our four attackers in minute 51, I asked them to use their head, all second half I was telling people to be calm. But the second goal was incredible.”
That second Villa goal, scored by Jackson in the 67th minute, was the moment that broke him. A simple long kick from the outstanding Zion Suzuki, one run, one finish. Tottenham’s back line, warned about exactly that scenario, simply switched off.
De Zerbi’s irritation was sharpened by the preparation they had done for it.
“We knew this season Aston Villa are playing 86% more long balls than last season and we spoke in many meetings about it,” he said. “Now we have to explain another game like [the home defeat against] Newcastle where we played the first half well, got to 60 minutes OK, and then we lose.”
The pattern is becoming familiar: bright starts, then a fade, then a collapse. So De Zerbi did not spare his players. He questioned their mentality and even their physical condition, and he did not hide his displeasure with the impact of one of his changes, saying that substitute Mohammed Kudus had disrupted the balance of the team.
As the squad scattered for international duty, there was no rousing speech, no late attempt at damage control. Just silence.
“I didn’t speak with the players today because I didn’t want to say anything,” De Zerbi admitted. “The players who go with the national team have to play and work and the others; for sure we have to work more because I didn’t like the finish to this game. We can’t say everything is bad, but it is not enough.”
On the other side, the mood could not have been more different.
For Unai Emery, this first Premier League win of the season felt like a return to type, a reminder of the identity that has carried Aston Villa forward under his watch.
“The players did well because they believed,” he said.
Villa had to suffer. They had to defend deep, withstand pressure and trust the plan. Emery, as ever, framed the victory through structure, discipline and collective effort.
“We needed to build a team that could play in this way, could defend with resilience and playing with passion when our opponents were attacking,” he explained. “We needed defenders, we needed the keeper, we needed everyone committed in that direction. We needed to feel strong first, then we could try to play with our structure and our ability. This is the competitive way.”
One manager left clinging to the idea that “it is not enough”. The other walked away convinced his team had just rediscovered exactly what is.
