Spurs hit self-destruct button again as season agony prolonged

He received a yellow card as things threatened to boil over late on, with 13 minutes of added time increasing the unbearable tension around the stadium.

No wonder De Zerbi looked so frustrated at the final whistle, because the door to survival that opened wider when West Ham United lost so contentiously to Arsenal on Sunday, suddenly closed again as they missed the chance to open up a significant four-point advantage going into the final two games of the season.

De Zerbi told Match of the Day that the pressure of their situation may have had an impact on his players.

"We didn't play a great game - we played a good game," De Zerbi said.

"I think we deserved to win anyway but maybe the pressure, the crucial game, the crucial part of the season, we suffered too much.

"Anyway I am happy because I watched my players with the right spirit, with the right mentality.

"We made too many mistakes. If we want to win we have to reduce the mistakes, but we knew before this game it will be tough until the end of the season, until the last game. It is tough for us and tough for everyone."

On Tel, he said: "He is young and is a talent. I will kiss him and hug him. He doesn't need too many words. He was sorry for the mistake. It can happen to a young player."

De Zerbi added: "I think we have to consider the result, but we also have to consider the performance. We played a good game, we are making points - in the last four games we made eight points.

"Congratulations to Leeds. They played a great game. They have to play the last game at West Ham and we've no doubt that they will play the same way."

Figure caption,

Tottenham players good enough to stay up - De Zerbi

One player who deserved a hug and a kiss from De Zerbi was goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, whose redemption arc from the trauma of being taken off after 17 minutes of the Champions League last-16 first leg at Atletico Madrid continued.

Kinsky made two superb saves, one from Joe Rodon's header in the first half, and another that preserved a point when he showed stunning reflexes to turn Sean Longstaff's stoppage-time shot on to the bar.

They could just turn out to be the saves that keep Spurs in the Premier League.

And that fight now looks likely to go to the final game of the season.

If West Ham can win at Newcastle United on Saturday, Spurs will be back in the bottom three when they travel to Chelsea for their next game on 19 May. The Blues would take ghoulish delight in prolonging their agony to a final game at home to Everton.

If it does go to the last game, Spurs will have to reverse a worrying trend as their last home win in the Premier League was against Brentford in December, drawing their last two under De Zerbi against Brighton then here against Leeds.

In desperation to snatch a winner, De Zerbi sent on James Maddison for his first action since sustaining a serious knee injury in pre-season. He looked lively, feeling he had won a penalty when he went down under challenge from Lukas Nmecha, but the Leeds player got a touch on the ball first.

De Zerbi's body language - not exactly difficult to read - screamed frustration.

It was echoed by everyone of a Spurs persuasion and life is unlikely to get any easier as their battle to avoid an embarrassing drop into the Championship now looks like it could go to the final day of this turbulent, chaotic season.