adminTottenham will be relegated from Premier League after Sunderland defeat, worrying statistic suggests
Roberto De Zerbi has admitted he faces an anxious wait over Cristian Romero’s fitness after the defender was forced off late in Tottenham’s 1-0 loss to Sunderland. The Argentine centre-back appeared to pick up a problem in the second half, adding further misery to a disappointing afternoon for the north London side.
Speaking after his first match as Spurs head coach, De Zerbi underlined how vital the World Cup winner is to his plans. “We don’t know yet. We’ll have to see in the coming days,” he said. “I hope it’s not too serious because he’s a crucial player for us. He’s a good guy, a top player with big personality, and we need him to finish the season and achieve our goal.”
The injury came at a particularly frustrating moment, as De Zerbi had already used all three of his tactical substitution windows just before Romero went down. “I changed three players, and after one minute, Romero gets injured,” he explained. “I don’t want to say anything yet because I don’t know.”
Tottenham are now on course for relegation, according to a worrying statistic. De Zerbi’s debut ended in familiar disappointment, with Spurs still waiting for their first Premier League win of 2026. Nordi Mukiele’s deflected effort sealed the win for Sunderland, where Spurs also had a penalty overturned and saw a tearful Romero leave the pitch.
Tottenham’s last Premier League victory came back in December against Crystal Palace. Their winless run in the division has now stretched to 14 games since the start of 2026. Only three teams have ever begun a calendar year with a longer winless streak in the Premier League, and on each previous occasion, those sides were relegated.
The longest such run belongs to Derby County in 2008, who failed to win any of their 18 top-flight matches that year and finished with the lowest points total in Premier League history. Sunderland went 17 games without a win in 2003 and were relegated in 20th place with just 19 points. Swindon Town also failed to win any of their first 15 matches in 1993 and finished bottom of the table.
With West Ham thrashing Wolves 4-0 and Nottingham Forest drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa, Spurs now sit two points from safety with six games remaining. They face De Zerbi’s former club Brighton next weekend, followed by a match against Wolves.
When asked by BBC Match of the Day whether he was excited by the challenge, De Zerbi said: “Absolutely. I’m sure if we can win a game, everything will change.” He added that his players don’t need a coach right now, but rather a “big brother or father,” and that they will play better once their confidence improves.
De Zerbi has also become only the second of the last 11 Tottenham managers to lose his first game in charge, after Igor Tudor fell 4-1 to Arsenal on his debut.
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