The sight of Roberto De Zerbi pulling a black hood over his face as he stalked the touchline was a symbol of another night of self-destruction by Tottenham Hotspur.
New head coach De Zerbi was a picture of anguish after Richarlison squandered a chance to put Spurs in a comfort zone by blazing a simple chance over the bar as they led Leeds United by Mathys Tel’s spectacular strike.
It would not have settled the game – 2-0 is no guarantee with Spurs – but it might just have settled the nerves jangling around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Italian is learning quickly that no such territory as a comfort zone exists at Spurs, and certainly not when presented with the opportunity to put daylight between them and West Ham United and make their lives easier in the Premier League relegation battle.
And so it proved as goalscorer Tel went from hero to zero in a moment of total recklessness after 74 minutes to concede the penalty that allowed Leeds to equalise from the penalty spot and deprive Spurs of two precious points.
Tel had already shown his erratic side in the first half when he found himself in a tight spot in his own penalty, then attempted to resolve the problem by delivering a perfect cross onto the head of an onrushing Leeds United forward, only for Kevin Danso’s desperate clearance to spare his embarrassment.
This was nothing compared to a bicycle kick in his own area that connected with Ethan Ampadu’s head, leaving the Leeds captain in a heap.
The Video Assistant Referee merely confirmed what everyone else in the stadium knew, De Zerbi raising his eyes to the heavens as Dominic Calvert-Lewin slammed home the penalty.
After being a relatively low-key presence in his early Spurs games, which have included vital wins away at Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa, this was the night when the Italian’s combustible temperament bubbled throughout.
De Zerbi jumped up and down on the spot in disgust at slow play from his team in the first half, then incurred the wrath of referee Jarred Gillett, who delivered a touchline dressing down as the Italian repeatedly left his technical area.
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.”
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 Sunday evening, 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.
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