How De Zerbi brought life to sinking Spurs

Breaking news from the world of sport: How De Zerbi brought life to sinking Spurs To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Spurs propel themselves out of relegation zone with win over Villa By Umir Irfan Football tactics correspondent Published 4 May 2026, 16:18 BST Updated 12 minutes ago Roberto de Zerbi's Spurs look like a revived outfit after claiming their second straight win - a 2-1 victory at Champions League-chasing Aston Villa . Having been coached by three managers - Thomas Frank, Igor Tudor and now De Zerbi - with strongly opposing styles this season, Spurs seem to be coming together despite the short time their new boss has had with them.

With renewed confidence paired with tactical principles that have simplified his players' decision-making process, Spurs' squad and fans will be quietly optimistic things have changed for the better and they can avoid the drop. And De Zerbi deserves much of the credit given the way he has set up his team. Has tide turned for troubled Spurs under De Zerbi?

Match Details

Published 17 hours ago A huge night for Spurs - but who are favourites to go down? Published 17 hours ago Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Tottenham have won back-to-back league games for the first time since the second weekend of the season Aggressive pressing nullifies Villa's build-up De Zerbi is usually praised for how his sides build from the back, but Spurs' defensive work stood out most against Villa on Sunday. Unai Emery's team have opted to build short and centrally before speeding up play when space opens higher up the pitch this season - not too dissimilar from the principles De Zerbi tends to opt for in possession.

To counter this, De Zerbi asked Spurs to press aggressively while blocking the middle of the pitch. Richarlison was key to the plan, positioning himself partly to block the pass into Villa's right centre midfielder Lamare Bogarde, while angling his body to discourage Emiliano Martinez from playing down Villa's right. Next to him, De Zerbi opted for Conor Gallagher who marked Youri Tielemans.

Image source, Premier League Image caption, Spurs' narrow front four blocked the centre of the pitch while also preventing Villa from finding their wide players easily At times, Richarlison pressed Martinez with Rodrigo Bentancur then stepping up from midfield to take responsibility for Bogarde. The Spurs trio in this way ensured Villa's central midfielders were unable to receive the ball unmarked. Randal Kolo Muani and Mathys Tel also had important roles.

Reactions and Expectations

Kolo Muani often positioned himself between Tyrone Mings and Ian Maatsen. If Martinez played to left centre-back Mings, Kolo Muani pressed intensely while angling his run to block the pass into Maatsen. But if Maatsen looked likely to receive freely, Pedro Porro stepped up from right-back.

Spurs reacted to these pressing triggers with an impressive level of coordination.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.