Even De Zerbi cannot fix them! Sorry Spurs lose again and drop to relegation zone
Reading Time: 3min | Sun. 12.04.26. | 18:09
Sunderland brushed Tottenham aside 1-0 on the Italian's debut and pushed the London club deeper into the abyss
Tottenham seem unsaveable this season!
Roberto De Zerbi took over the Spurs’ bench, trying to improve things and help them escape from the relegation zone. Instead, the North London side dropped right into the abyss after the Italian’s debut in the dugout!
An away game against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light is never an easy place for redemption, and Tottenham learned it the hard way today. Even though it’s debatable whether the visitors deserved to lose, they were pretty unfortunate, and it cost them.
People say one has to deserve luck. This season, the Spurs definitely did not.
The key moment of the game occurred in the 61st minute when Nordi Mukiele scored the winner after a long-range strike and a deflection that tricked Tottenham keeper Antonin Kinsky.
De Zerbi’s team now sits two points below West Ham, the first team above the relegation zone, so the survival battle will be hard until the last round.
FT: Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham
— Veejay Updates ⚽️ (@veejayfootie) April 12, 2026
Spurs Relegation battle continues as they lose at the Stadium of light to Sunderland pic.twitter.com/vp96eI1xPm
Despite a number of chances the rivals created before the break, the nets at Stadium of Light remained intact after the opening 45 minutes.
Spurs threatened a few times through Richarlison and Dominic Solanke, and were on the verge of being awarded a penalty kick after Omar Alderete's tackle on Randal Kolo Muani, but the VAR room overturned the referee Robert Jones' initial decision.
On the other hand, Sunderland were even closer to the opener, especially after Noah Sadiki and Granit Xhaka's strikes. The robust Brian Brobbey caused a lot of trouble for Tottenham defenders, but failed to find himself in a goal-scoring opportunity.
After the break, the game continued at much slower pace, as both rivals seemed much more cautious than in the beginning of the match. There were only two moments of excitement in the second half, but both of them showed how unlucky the Spurs actually are.
The crucial highlight of the game occurred in the 61st minute, when Nordi Mukiele broke the deadlock and paved the way for the Black Cats' victory. The Frenchman shot from distance, the ball deflected of the visitors' centre-back Micky van de Ven and tricked their custodian Antonin Kinsky.
Even though they fought hard to bounce back, Tottenham's attacks were too weak to break the sturdy defence of the home team.
To make matters worse, the Spurs captain Christian Romero picked up a seemingly severe injury 20 minutes before the end after a collision with Kinsky, and was forced to leave the pitch immediately.
Challenging days are ahead of Tottenham and De Zerbi, as the epic disaster is knocking on their door.
ENGLAND PREMIER LEAGUE ROUND 32
Friday
West Ham - Wolverhampton 4-0 (1-0)
/Mavropanos 42, 83, Castellanos 66, 68/
Saturday
Arsenal - Bournemouth 1-2 (1-1)
/Gyokeres 35 pen - Kroupi 17, Scott 74/
Brentford - Everton 2-2 (1-1)
/Thiago 3 pen, 76 - Beto 26, Dewsburry-Hall 90+1/
Burnley - Brighton 0-2 (0-1)
/Wieffer 43, 89/
Liverpool - Fulham 2-0 (2-0)
/Ngumoha 36, Salah 40/
Sunday
Crystal Palace - Newcastle 2-1 (0-1)
/Mateta 80, 90+4 pen - Osula 43/
Nottingham Forest - Aston Villa 1-1 (1-1)
/Williams 38 - Murillo 23 og/
Sunderland - Tottenham 1-0 (0-0)
/Mukiele 61/
18.30: (3.15) Chelsea (3.90) Man.City (2.20)
Monday
22.00: (1.65) Man.Utd. (4.10) Leeds (5.10)
***odds are subject to change***