The hope that Roberto De Zerbi could immediately offer a boost to Tottenham Hotspur and shake things up positively enough in his managerial debut that Spurs would be able to finally get a win in the Premier League were met with a harsh reality. This Spurs team looks like one that is doomed to relegation.
In the morning after the game, The Athletic's Nick Miller summed up the situation Spurs are in from a national perspective, and it really sinks in just how dire things are:
"The basic facts tell you that there is still everything to play for in the Premier League relegation race. Three points separate four teams, with Tottenham currently occupying 18th place and Leeds yet to play this weekend. West Ham and Nottingham Forest are between those two, so with six more rounds to go, in theory, itâs shaping up to be a thoroughly entertaining scrap for survival. But then you watch the games, and you start to feel much less optimistic about Tottenhamâs chances of staying up."
Tottenham look like the underdogs
Everything that could have possibly went wrong ended up going wrong. Spurs played horrendously and didn't look for a moment like they would score. So many calls ended up going against them yet again, including a despicable Brian Brobbey challenge that led to Cristian Romero joining Mohammed Kudus (and others) with a season ending injury.
Although you would normally back Tottenham with De Zerbi coaching and the players that they have to stay up when the competition is West Ham, Wolves, Burnley, and Nottingham Forest, Spurs, right now, look like the worst team of the lot.
At this point, as Miller's comments allude to, Tottenham Hotspur are starting to look, if anything, like the underdogs in the relegation fight. Whereas West Ham United are knocking down Wolves 4-0, Spurs lost 3-0 to Nottingham Forest before the March international break and were as putrid offensively in Roberto De Zerbi's first game managing the club vs. Sunderland as they were under Igor Tudor or Thomas Frank.
Now, Spurs can only go up from here with De Zerbi coaching them, and James Maddison may still be on his way back from injury. But there are no other saviors. Mohammed Kudus is done. Cristian Romero is now gone. And unless if Spurs can dramatically improve - not just improve marginally - from where they are now, then the Lilywhites can kiss the Premier League farewell.