LONDON — Roberto de Zerbi says Tottenham’s final match of the season against Everton on Sunday is a bigger match for the club than last season’s Europa League final as they seek to secure their topflight status and avoid relegation.
Spurs fell 2-1 to Chelsea on Tuesday evening, meaning the battle against relegation goes to the final day.
Tottenham travelled to Stamford Bridge knowing a draw would effectively secure their top flight status for another year. But instead, it was Chelsea who triumphed over their rivals with Enzo Fernández scoring a long-range effort in the first half, and Andrey Santos doubling their lead in the 67th minute.
Richarlison scored in the 74th minute, but Spurs couldn’t force the equaliser.
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The defeat means Tottenham remain two points clear of West Ham with a vastly superior goal difference. On the final day of the season, Spurs host Everton, while West Ham welcome Leeds to the London Stadium.
“Sunday is the final for Tottenham, not in Bilbao against Man United [last season], but this is the most important game,” De Zerbi said.
“We play for something more important than the trophy — the pride, the history of the club, the dignity are more important than the trophy. The trophy you can win, but the most important thing is to keep the dignity, to keep the pride.
“I have lived the last 45 days just for one thing. Every one of the players, their focus is on the target [of survival] — they are working harder during the week and every one of us want to achieve that goal.”
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James Maddison impressed off the bench for Spurs, but De Zerbi says his involvement is still limited to 20 minutes as he continues working his way back to full fitness from an ACL injury.
His introduction gave Spurs fresh impetus, and late on, Spurs looked like they may have forced a penalty. Spurs were lining up for a corner, and with the ball flying over, referee Stuart Attwell blew for a foul from Marc Cucurella on Micky van de Ven.
Spurs protested for a penalty but Attwell ruled the corner hadn’t yet been taken. De Zerbi wouldn’t be drawn on the incident, but instead called on the fans to help the team home against Everton on Sunday.
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“They have been fantastic, fantastic and we have to say thanks,” he said. “If we talk about the penalty then we lose focus and we lose energy. My focus is on the best 11 I can get and to prepare them in the best way. It’s a big day for us.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s interim head coach Calum McFarlane played down any injury concerns over Reece James and Levi Colwill with neither in the starting lineup.
“Levi has come off the back of a serious injury so it was too quick a turnaround after the cup final — we couldn’t risk him tonight,” McFarlane said. “Reece is the same. We didn’t want to risk him.”
He said João Pedro has a “slight knock” and it’s a case of “wait and see” to whether they will be fit in time for the trip to Sunderland on Sunday.
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McFarlane expressed delight with Fernández’s performance, and was impressed with the way the team bounced back from their FA Cup final disappointment.
“It was good to get the win,” he said. “It was obvious from minute one that we didn’t always have the energy we needed after the psychological and physical load the FA Cup final put on us.
“I thought we deserved the 2-0 lead, and Spurs showed more energy towards the end. They had more time to prepare for the game. We just needed to dig in for the result.”
