De Zerbi praises Bentancur after red card as Solanke rescues Spurs at Old Trafford
Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi praised Rodrigo Bentancur after the Uruguay midfielder was sent off during Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on 10 October 2026 in a Premier League match. Dominic Solanke headed the equaliser in the second minute of added time to earn a point for 10-man Spurs.
Bentancur received a red card for headbutting Luke Shaw amid a feisty 78th-minute melee while Tottenham were trailing 1-0, and De Zerbi said he was thankful to the midfielder for providing a “spark” against United. "I kiss Rodrigo and say thanks," De Zerbi said in his post-match press conference. "In that moment maybe with 10 players we played with more courage, more energy. "For a long time Tottenham played without this blood, this character."
The incident followed a reckless challenge by Bentancur that saw Shaw race towards the Spurs player and shove him off the pitch; Bentancur then planted his head towards Shaw's face. Team-mates intervened to separate the pair before referee Stuart Attwell sent the substitute off.
De Zerbi described Bentancur's action as a "mistake" but argued the response galvanised his side. "I kissed Bentancur in the dressing room because we need this type of reaction, this character. Football is character," he told Sky Sports. "I liked the situation with the red card. We need at this moment the situation, not to bring a red card but we need to not accept the defeat."
Despite Solanke's late header, Tottenham remain without a win in the Premier League after six matches and are in the relegation zone with three points. It is the fourth time the club have failed to win any of their opening six league games, following 2008-09, 1955-56 and 1912-13, and only 19th-placed Coventry have scored fewer goals than Tottenham’s three.
De Zerbi praised his players’ overall display at Old Trafford, pointing to a strong first-half performance and collective effort. "Today has been the game where for the first time this season we showed we are a team," De Zerbi said. "We played for the team-mates, we played together, we stayed inside of the game in every situation and we attacked as a team and defended as a team." He added: "I'm very happy because I've seen the right spirit, the right character and I want to start from this character, this reaction, this behaviour."
Tottenham spent more than £250m on arrivals over the summer, adding 10 players to the squad, and have organised a warm-weather training camp in Spain with the team expected to travel to Marbella on Sunday. "Now the target is to build the team," De Zerbi said. "We are a great group of players but we are not a team yet and to be a team is to play for the team-mates, suffer together, attack together." Spurs face newly-promoted Coventry on Monday, 19 October before travelling to Chelsea the following Saturday.
