Roberto De Zerbi admitted he was unhappy with Mateus Fernandes’ performance after explaining why he substituted the midfielder at half-time during Tottenham’s 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa.
Spurs went into the interval 1-0 down, with De Zerbi deciding to replace Fernandes with Mohammed Kudus in an attempt to change the game.
Fernandes, who primarily operated as a defensive midfielder for West Ham last season, was deployed in a more advanced No.10 role against Villa. Tottenham were without James Maddison from the start, while Dejan Kulusevski and Xavi Simons were also unavailable through injury.
De Zerbi explained that his decision was based on Fernandes’ performance rather than any lack of faith in the player.
“Mateus is different to Kudus,” De Zerbi said. “I have great confidence in Mateus, but I didn’t like his performance today. It’s not an attack on him because I love him. I just want more from him, even in that position.”
The Tottenham boss was also questioned about the absence of Mathys Tel from the matchday squad, with the forward left in the stands as De Zerbi instead named three defenders and Archie Gray among his substitutes.
De Zerbi described the decision as a technical one and insisted there was no issue between himself and Tel.
“It was a technical decision,” he said. “He was in the stands because I thought during the game Maddison and Kudus had more chances to change the game.
“Then we had two centre-backs, who are important, as well as the two full-backs. You have to look at Pedro Porro, with Archie Gray, and the two central midfielders.
“But I explained the reason to Mathys yesterday. There was no problem. He was very nice and understood the reason. Nothing more. He has also played more than the others.”
“WHAT A BOMBSHELL…’ – De Zerbi delivers brutal Mateus Fernandes verdict after Tottenham’s Aston Villa defeat
