Roberto De Zerbi has not made any friends on the Chelsea bench during the first half, as the Tottenham Hotspur boss is in danger of being booked.
Tottenham find themselves trailing Chelsea by a goal to nil at half-time, as De Zerbi’s side have work to do if they are to secure their Premier League survival on Tuesday night.
After making a strong and fast start to the game at Stamford Bridge, which included Mathys Tel’s header hitting the woodwork, the Blues opened the scoring on 18 minutes through Enzo Fernandez.
De Zerbi must now gather his players in the dressing room ahead of what is the biggest 45 minutes of the Lilywhites’ 2025-26 season so far.
Spurs will be safe if they beat Chelsea, whilst a draw would also be effectively good enough given their far superior goal difference to West Ham.
MORE SPURS STORIES
🏟️ TOTTENHAM MATCHDAY HUB 🏟️
Line-ups, predicted XIs, player ratings, tactical verdicts, match analysis, and live Spurs form guides.
Get 24/7 updates from your definitive Lilywhites source
Why is Chelsea’s bench angry with Roberto De Zerbi?
De Zerbi has a poor record against Chelsea during his managerial career, and so this Stamford Bridge trip was always going to be the toughest test of his Tottenham reign so far.
With so much riding on the fixture for both teams, with Chelsea chasing Europe and Spurs Premier League safety respectively, as well as it being a historic London derby, emotions were always bound to be running high.
However, as detailed by Standard Sport reporter Sam Tabuteau via his live report of the game, De Zerbi has been raising the blood pressure levels of those on the Chelsea bench during the first half.
“Chelsea bench not happy with Roberto De Zerbi, who keeps creeping out of his technical area,” Tabuteau writes.
“Reminder, he is one booking away from having to serve a one-game touchline ban.”
Tottenham can’t afford De Zerbi in the stands vs Everton
If Tottenham can’t get a result against Chelsea from the second half, then the battle for 17th will go down to the final day.
Spurs welcome Everton to N17 on Sunday, with the Toffees boasting the experience of David Moyes in their dug out.
Not having De Zerbi on the touchline for what could be the decisive game of the season, and potentially one of the biggest in Tottenham’s Premier League history, may prove catastrophic for Spurs.
De Zerbi is a passionate and emotional manager, but he must keep his cool in the second half, unless, of course, he was to pick up a booking for celebrating a last-minute winner/equaliser – then Lilywhites fans wouldn’t care one bit.
Don’t Miss a Beat: Your Tottenham Hotspur News Access
Get the full story from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Hotspur Way with our dedicated expert hubs:
Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from N17 and Hotspur Way.