Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi told his players that Sunday’s Premier League finale will be bigger than Bilbao – the location of their Europa League triumph over Manchester United last season – because ‘pride’ and ‘dignity’ are more important than any trophy.
After losing to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Spurs will go into their final-day showdown with Everton above relegation rivals West Ham, who face Leeds, by just two points.
‘Sunday is the final for Tottenham,’ De Zerbi said. ‘Not Bilbao against Man United. The most important game is Sunday. Because last season, they played for a trophy.
‘Now we play for something more important than a trophy. The pride, the history of the club, the dignity are more important than that trophy. Trophies, you can win, you can lose, nothing changes in your life, one trophy more. Most important is to keep dignity, keep the pride.’
Spurs went up a level once James Maddison was introduced after 69 minutes, though they were trailing 2-0 as he emerged. It is unclear whether he will be fit enough to start against Everton. ‘I think we can stay up with James and without James,’ De Zerbi said.
‘The last 20 minutes, we showed more energy, more passion, something more inside of us. But it is difficult. It is an opportunity for every one of us. When you fight relegation, you have to stay inside of the league until the last minute of the last game of the season.’
Roberto De Zerbi has told his Tottenham players that Sunday’s relegation showdown is bigger than the Europa League final
Chelsea led 2-0 with Enzo Fernandez scoring their first and assisting Andrey Santos for their second, before Richarlison pulled a goal back by tapping in Pape Matar Sarr’s backheeled set-up.
Spurs felt wronged when referee Stuart Attwell cautioned Marc Cucurella for pulling down Micky van de Ven in the box – only to order that the corner be retaken rather than award a penalty. VAR deemed the offence occurred when the ball was not yet in play.
Bournemouth’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City not only confirmed Arsenal as Premier League champions, but also meant Chelsea can no longer secure finish sixth. That means Champions League qualification is now officially out of their reach this season. The Europa League remains a possibility under Xabi Alonso next campaign as they travel to Sunderland for their 2025-26 finale.
‘Sometimes it wasn’t pretty, it was what it looked like,’ Chelsea interim Calum McFarlane said after their first league win at home since January. ‘We needed to show grit and determination. That’s been questioned in this team before. We knew we couldn’t match them with energy or intensity. You could see from minute one there were some lads who were still feeling Wembley (after their FA Cup final loss to Manchester City on Saturday). We got a two-goal lead and defended it well.’
