De Zerbi kisses sent-off Bentancur as Spurs snatch late draw at United

Roberto De Zerbi said he kissed Rodrigo Bentancur after his red card for a headbutt, moments before 10-man Tottenham snatched a 1-1 draw at Manchester United. Dominic Solanke headed the equaliser in the 92nd minute at Old Trafford on 10 October.

Bentancur had only just come on as a substitute. De Zerbi sent him on with Omar Marmoush for Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Bergvall, according to The Independent. Then came the flashpoint.

In the 78th minute, with Tottenham trailing 1-0, Bentancur headbutted Luke Shaw during a melee. Referee Stuart Attwell showed a straight red card, which means dismissal and no replacement, leaving Spurs to chase the game with 10 men BBC Sport.

They found a way. Solanke rose to head home in the second minute of added time, the extra minutes played for earlier stoppages. It rescued a point that had looked gone.

De Zerbi did not hide from the incident. "I kiss Rodrigo and say thanks," he said in his post-match press conference. He went further on Sky Sports: "I kissed Bentancur in the dressing room because we need this type of reaction, this character."

The Tottenham boss added: "I liked the situation with the red card." He called it a mistake, but said it was the type of reaction and character his team needed BBC Sport.

The point did not end Tottenham's wait for a win. They are still winless in the Premier League after six games. Three points from those matches leaves them in the relegation zone, the bottom three places that go down at the end of the season.

That record follows a summer of heavy spending. Tottenham put more than £250m into new talent and brought in 10 players. De Zerbi still liked what he saw against United. "We played very well against a great team," he told Sky Sports, via Al Jazeera.

What makes this stand out is the trade-off De Zerbi is making. He wants fight. He accepts the cost that can come with it.