De Zerbi breaks Tottenham out of a jail they should never have put themselves in to begin with

It’s only four years ago that Spurs were, for the sixth season in succession, finishing above Arsenal

25 May 2026 - The Guardian

Jonathan Wilson

Almost half a century ago, Matthew Engel had a line in this newspaper about Sheffield United going top of the Fourth Division being like hearing a friend had been made head of the prison library: you wanted to congratulate them but really you were wondering what on earth they were doing there in the first place. It was a similar story at Spurs on Sunday: for all the understandable glee and relief, even to be in danger of relegation is evidence of things having gone badly wrong.

It may be that the future has this as the first day in the new history of Tottenham. Roberto De Zerbi is clearly a manager of great promise – 11 points in seven games may not be earth-shattering, but it is a lot, lot better than what came before – and the injury crisis surely can’t be this bad for a third straight season. Perhaps coming so close to the brink will startle them into decisive action in a way that last season’s fourth-bottom finish, mitigated as it was by the Europa League success, did not. Perhaps there really will come a bracing clarity of vision and they will rise again. The world can change very quickly. It’s only four years ago that Spurs were, for the sixth season in succession, finishing above Arsenal. A season out of Europe, while it will have a negative impact on revenues, can have a remarkable rejuvenating effect.

As nervous as Tottenham fans became with news of West Ham’s goals flashing up on phone screens, for a long time it simply didn’t seem plausible that this Everton might score at all, never mind twice. The chaos of injury time, the headers over the bar, Antonin Kinsky’s fine save from Tyrique George, seemed out of keeping with the previous 90 minutes, more a manifestation of Spurs’s anxiety than anything Everton were doing.

It was very hard to square this tentative side with the team that had such an impact in the Premier League title race by drawing 3-3 with Manchester City. Spurs, as in the defeat by Nottingham Forest and the draw against Leeds, began well and got gradually scratchier but, on this occasion, it didn’t matter: only belatedly did the sponge mallet of Everton’s attack transform into something that might do damage.

Some Spurs fans had been doubtful about attending, or even following the game on television or the radio. There was a lot of talk of long walks or gardening, avoiding the anxiety until it was all done, but football is about emotion whether positive or negative; about moments of crisis such as this. The duty of a fan is to bear witness, the beauty of fandom is the common experience of emotion. Imagine if you were a regular who had not been there and they had gone down; to be absent for the lowest low would be just as bad as missing the highest high. Collective memory is the lifeblood of community.

As it was, it turned out to be a day that showcased what Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could be. From the scenes when the bus arrived – undissuaded despite how badly that went when they tried it against Forest – this was as good an atmosphere as anybody could realistically expect. The roar at the final whistle was deafening, and whether it was relief or euphoria doesn’t really matter: it will be remembered.

And so Spurs won a first home league game since 6 December. They got their lap of honour. They got to stand before the South Stand and soak up the acclaim.

It didn’t feel hugely different from the final day a year ago, when the reception was similar despite a 4-1 defeat to Brighton. Then too they had finished 17th, with three fewer points than they managed this season, although relegation had never been a threat in the way it was in 2025-26. But the Europa League they had won the previous Wednesday softened the mood and offered hope that this season might be better. It turned out to be just as bad in the league without the mitigation of Europe.

Is this different? Perhaps, in the sense that De Zerbi is in situ. He has completed the first and most important objective. Next season, the tasks will be less well-defined and thus perhaps harder to achieve. But he has not looked overwhelmed by the job in the way that Thomas Frank did within a few weeks. He has a big achievement to his name already, rather than, like Frank, replacing the manager who had won the club their first trophy in 17 years.

The squad will take some reshaping but this time the positive vibes at Spurs may be well-founded. What that means is less clearcut, not least because nobody quite knows how the switch from profitability and sustainability regulations to squad cost ratio will play out. But at the very least, the relative lack of games should make finishing in a European qualifying position next season a viable goal. Relegation, certainly, shouldn’t be a threat.

But then it shouldn’t have been this season. Spurs really have no business in the prison library.

***

Palhinha pounces to help Spurs lift curse from their house of horrors

25 May 2026 - The Guardian

David Hytner

Tottenham 1

Palhinha 43

Everton 0

It was a question of dignity, according to Roberto De Zerbi, which was certainly a valid starting point. But for Tottenham, it was so much else besides. Reputations. Livelihoods. The very future of the club. Everything was on the line because the consequences of a first relegation from English football’s top division since 1977 did not bear thinking about. Even if everybody had thought about them all the same.

It was impossible to ignore the feeling of foreboding. It was there as the Spurs fans made their way to the stadium, which has been a house of horrors for them in the top flight this season. No club in the division had a worse home record than them at the start of the day. It was there throughout the game, rising exponentially in the second half as West Ham, needing to beat Leeds at the London Stadium to make it very interesting, scored three times. And it hammered on into the 12 minutes of stoppage time; only nine had been signalled.

Spurs scored through João Palhinha in the 43rd minute and they needed only a draw to ensure they finished above West Ham. But there was never a moment when anybody with Spurs in their hearts could relax. There was the sense that one Everton goal would really turn the screw and there were bellowed cries from the home crowd when their goalkeeper, Antonin Kinsky, touched over a drive from the Everton substitute Tyrique George in the 99th minute.

Spurs stared into the abyss and when they came out on the other side it was a cocktail of emotions, relief prominent among them as some of the players slumped face-first into the turf upon the final whistle.

De Zerbi tore on to the pitch, the manager’s survival mission complete – three wins and two draws from seven matches keeping the club on the right side of the dotted line. The recriminations about a wretched season can wait. This was simply a time for the club’s long-suffering fans to drink in some positivity.

Everton had nothing to play for. They were in the nightclubs, to riff off the popular phrase. David Moyes had said he would love to help his old club West Ham stay in the league but there was a chasm between the motivation levels for the respective teams. When the Spurs players emerged from the tunnel for kick-off, some of them had their children in their arms.

The Spurs team bus had been welcomed into the ground by thousands of fans and the atmosphere was feverish. De Zerbi’s players had to master the heat on more than just a metaphorical level: it was 30C in the shade.

Spurs pressed on to the front foot at the outset, threatening to get in behind and the first half belonged to them. Conor Gallagher, Kevin Danso and Palhinha squandered halfchances before the water break in the 23rd minute. The tensions bubbled and they spilled over at one point into a row between the benches after Jake O’Brien pulled back Mathys Tel and was booked.

Tel was in the mood, quick and direct. There was a collective energy about the Spurs performance in the first half, a synergy with the crowd and they deserved their half-time lead. Danso had wasted another half-chance and Tel saw a curling shot blocked by James Tarkowski when the breakthrough came.

Palhinha was given yards of space at the back post to meet a Tel corner and when his header came off the upright, he was quick to react to the rebound, stabbing goalwards. Jordan Pickford got something to it and Beto thought he had cleared off the line but the ball had just about crossed it. Chalk it up as another vital Palhinha goal after his winner at Wolves in April that got De Zerbi’s tenure up and running. Palhinha also scored a last-gasp equaliser in the home game against Wolves last September.

The second half was always likely to be an ordeal for the Spurs support and so it proved. Moyes made attacking changes, introducing Harrison Armstrong and George and Spurs sank back, seeking to preserve what they had. The mood changed. More so when the news of the West Ham goals filtered through. The TV director feasted on the cut-away shots of anxious fans.

Pickford had fumbled a Djed Spence shot behind for a corner shortly after the restart but the remainder of the second half became a slow and painful grind to full-time. Nothing much happened in terms of goalmouth action but the fear of what might do so increased for Spurs.

The clocks on the giant screens in all four corners of the stadium seemed to transcend the occasion. Pape Sarr, on as a substitute, was guilty of a blatant dive in the area on 80 minutes and was booked. James Maddison and Archie Gray came on to great acclaim.

Could Everton produce something? George almost made it happen with a low cross after a flick from Michael Keane and there were gasps when the amount of stoppage time was shown. Keane headed just over. And if Kinsky had not saved from George, there might have been time for Everton to push for a winner. That would have been too much for Spurs to bear. As it was, they resisted.