Premier League
Debut Disappointment: De Zerbi’s Tottenham Fall at Sunderland
Spurs lost at Sunderland in De Zerbi’s debut, showing little attacking progress and rising pressure.
Roberto De Zerbi’s first match in charge delivered a narrow defeat for Tottenham Hotspur at Sunderland and few signs of immediate improvement. Optimism surrounded the Italian’s arrival, but Sunday’s performance at the Stadium of Light exposed a depleted, technically limited side that struggled to impose any consistent control.
“The Hammers’ result only added to the pressure on De Zerbi’s side at the Stadium of Light, although many were optimistic that the presence of the handsomely-paid Italian in the away dugout could facilitate a swift change of fortunes.” That hope went largely unmet as Spurs failed to convert moments of promise into sustained threat.
“I don’t want to give too many principles, too many instructions on the pitch if we are speaking about just football, but organization with the ball, without the ball,” De Zerbi told reporters in his pregame press conference.
Early on, a slick move saw Richarlison produce a tame effort rather than an opener. Tottenham’s inverted full-back play showed some intent, with Destiny Udogie able to burst forward when Conor Gallagher drifted into the left back zone. Yet alternative selections drew questions: Mathys Tel and Xavi Simons were surprising omissions, while Lucas Bergvall was used as the most advanced midfielder — a role Thomas Frank had attempted previously with limited success.
The second half brightened briefly before a defensive lapse on the edge of the box proved costly. Nordi Mukiele beat Gallagher and saw an effort deflect off Micky van de Ven and into the net beyond Antonín Kinsky, whose overall performance was one of the few encouraging elements for Spurs. A heavy collision between Kinsky and Cristian Romero, following a Brian Brobbey push, further disrupted the contest.
Substitute appearances, including Tel, failed to shift the momentum. Pedro Porro’s late drive, tipped over by Robin Roefs, was the closest Tottenham came to rescuing a point. Sunderland held firm in a physical contest and claimed a narrow win.
Possession was 52% to 48% for Sunderland; expected goals 1.79 to 0.91; shots 13 to 11. Spurs are now 14 games without a top-flight win. De Zerbi has six matches remaining to arrest their decline.
Premier League
Opta model reshapes Premier League relegation fight after late Spurs and West Ham drama
Late drama swung the fight for safety. Opta’s model today reshuffles relegation odds after Saturday.
Saturday produced a late swing in the bottom three and left the relegation fight tighter than before the final four fixtures. With eight minutes remaining João Palhinha bundled home what looked like a decisive winner for Spurs, and home supporters were still celebrating when Everton produced an equaliser that reached the crowd. Spurs briefly climbed out of the relegation zone, only for Callum Wilson to power West Ham back into a stoppage-time lead to secure three points and sour what was a first win of 2026 for Spurs.
Opta’s supercomputer has translated the weekend’s events into updated projections for the closing run. The model gives the current table and chances as follows: Leeds United sit 15th on 40 current points with expected points of 45.74 and a 1.21% chance of relegation. Nottingham Forest are 16th on 39 points, with 43.99 expected points and a 1.75% relegation probability. West Ham are 17th on 36 points, expected to finish on 40.12 points and recorded a 37.35% chance of going down. Tottenham occupy 18th on 34 points with 38.57 expected points and a 59.59% relegation likelihood. Burnley and Wolves remain certain relegation cases, both at 100.00% in the model, with Burnley on 20 points and expected 23.44, Wolves on 17 points and expected 21.51.
Leeds’ midweek draw with Bournemouth pushed them to the conventional safety threshold of 40 points, and Daniel Farke’s side sit in a far healthier position according to the numbers. Nottingham Forest’s 5–0 win over Sunderland on Friday moved them within a point of Leeds and bolstered their goal difference. West Ham’s late victory lifted Nuno Espírito Santo’s team out of the drop zone for now. Roberto De Zerbi’s Spurs remain two points adrift of safety and face the steepest statistical risk as the campaign heads into its final four matches.
Crystal Palace
Salah’s Season and Liverpool Farewell Put at Risk by Hamstring Issue
Salah limped off at Anfield with a suspected hamstring injury, leaving his Liverpool future unclear.
Mohamed Salah left Anfield applauding all four sides after appearing to pick up a hamstring problem during Liverpool’s meeting with Crystal Palace. He pulled up shortly before the hour mark and was forced off, trudging from the pitch to a chorus of concern from the crowd.
Immediate fears surrounded the severity of the issue and whether the injury could end Salah’s season, and even his Liverpool career. With roughly one month remaining of the campaign, the forward faces a clear race against time if he is to appear again in a Liverpool shirt.
Liverpool have just four fixtures remaining this season. A trip to Manchester United next Sunday already feels too soon for Salah if he has injured his hamstring, while the extent of the blow will determine whether a return is possible before the end of the campaign.
Chelsea travel to Anfield on May 9 in a tense fixture in the race for Europe, and that will be the penultimate chance for Salah to play in front of a home crowd in a Liverpool shirt. Arne Slot’s side end the season at home to Brentford and Liverpool will undoubtedly use that fixture to pay tribute to Salah. Long-standing left back Andy Robertson can also expect a hero’s farewell, but fans will hope to see the Egypt international on the pitch one final time.
Complicating the club situation is this summer’s World Cup. Salah will be keen to hurry back to action and bid farewell to his club, but he will not want to risk exacerbating a problem that could affect his involvement this summer in what is likely to be his final World Cup appearance.
The coming days and medical assessments will be decisive. Liverpool’s remaining schedule and the timing of recovery will decide whether supporters will witness Salah one more time at Anfield before the season closes.
Man Utd Transfer News
Fernandes says family counsel convinced him to remain at United amid Saudi interest
Fernandes says his wife helped him decide to stay at United amid Saudi interest and upheaval for now
Bruno Fernandes has revealed that a private conversation with his wife played a decisive role in his choice to stay at Manchester United last summer. Faced with significant offers from Saudi clubs, the United captain reflected on priorities with his family and concluded that he still had more to offer the club.
“I stayed because I thought I still had something that I can give back to the club,” Fernandes told The Wayne Rooney Show .
He described the financial temptation succinctly and praised his wife’s pragmatic view. “Obviously the Saudi situation, with the money … there was a lot. The good thing I have in my family is that my wife is pretty down to earth like me.
“We’re very aware that we don’t want to be the richest person in the world. We just want to be the ones that have achieved the dreams they had and live a good life with their kids and trying to be as successful as possible.
“The words of my wife were like, ‘have you achieved your dreams? Have you achieved everything you wanted?’
“And that small thing she said made me understand that she’s on the same page as me. Let’s keep trying and see where this takes me.”
Fernandes added: “I didn’t want to leave the club at the point where we were struggling.” Earlier this season, while United were toiling under Ruben Amorim, there was widespread speculation the club might cash in on its marquee player to fund a rebuild. Fernandes has long expressed a desire to remain, though he has accepted he would leave if the club asked him to.
A change of fortunes under Michael Carrick has seen United rise to third in the Premier League table and the sense that the club is no longer in freefall has strengthened. Fernandes made clear his ambitions remain high: “I want to win the Premier League,” he said. “I want to win the Champions League. I never hide from that.”
Still, the long-term outcome will depend on United’s transfer strategy and whether selling Fernandes becomes the most attractive means to finance the squad’s reconstruction.
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