adminTottenham suffered their 16th Premier League loss of the season at the hands of Sunderland.
When Roberto De Zerbi was hired during the March international break, the idea was not only to give Tottenham a long-term playing philosophy but also to rescue them from an immediate relegation battle.
Their hopes of survival took a major hit on Friday, as fellow relegation contenders West Ham thrashed Wolves 4-0 at home, pushing De Zerbi’s side down to 18th place. It was then up to Tottenham to respond by beating Sunderland and climbing out of the drop zone—but they failed to deliver.
In his first match in charge, De Zerbi watched his team lose 1-0 to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.
The decisive goal came when right-back Nordi Mukiele’s shot deflected off Micky van de Ven, giving the Black Cats a famous victory and deepening Spurs’ crisis.
Still winless in the Premier League this calendar year, the defeat leaves Tottenham on the brink of relegation, with their fate no longer in their own hands.
Micky van de Ven “devastated” after Sunderland loss
After the narrow defeat, Micky van de Ven spoke about the game and bemoaned his team’s bad luck, especially the fortunate deflection that led to Sunderland’s winner.
“I’m devastated that we lost today,” Van de Ven told the club’s official channel.
“We didn’t play a bad game and created chances, while not conceding many. Their goal gets a strange deflection, so we were a bit unlucky.
“We’ve trained really well this week, and next week we want it to be the same and hopefully get the points next weekend.
“Nothing is going our way for the last couple of months. A deflected goal, a penalty taken away from us. We just need to find the momentum to turn things around.”
Indeed, Spurs have endured more than their share of bad luck this season. An unprecedented injury crisis hasn’t helped, and small moments in matches have repeatedly changed outcomes, costing them points. Sunday was another example: a more organized and determined performance was undone by misfortune rather than poor defending or individual mistakes.
Cristian Romero suffered a knee injury after a collision with Antonin Kinsky in the second half against Sunderland and could miss the rest of the season with a possible MCL rupture—a massive blow for De Zerbi’s side. In Romero’s likely absence, Van de Ven, whose form has dipped in recent months, must step up and lead by example.
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