Tottenham Gaffer Explains Bentancur Kiss After Man Utd Red Card Outburst

Tottenham coach Roberto De Zerbi has shed light on his decision to kiss Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur in the dressing room following the club's 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Saturday. According to De Zerbi, the gesture was meant to signify the team's need to exhibit "character."

Bentancur had entered the game in the 66th minute, replacing Lucas Bergvall. However, his time on the pitch was cut short after just 12 minutes when he was involved in a touchline confrontation with United's left-back, Luke Shaw. Bentancur was observed making a headbutt motion towards Shaw, which resulted in a straight red card from the referee.

While condemning the red card itself, De Zerbi told Sky Sports after the match that the dismissal was, in a way, commendable. He stated, “Today, we showed we are a team for the first time this season. We play as a team. We suffer, we dominate the game. But in every situation, we were in the game. Football is like this. I think this character, I like the situation with Rodrigo [Bentacur] with the red card. We need it in this moment, this situation. Not to bring a red card, but we have not accepted the defeat. We have to not accept conceding a goal. We have to react in all ways we can. It’s a bad way; it’s not the right way, but I kissed Bentacur in the dressing room because we need this reaction, this type of reaction with character. Football is character.”

The match's scoring saw Bryan Mbeumo break the deadlock for "United" in the 73rd minute, assisted by Cunha. The scoreline was later leveled in the 92nd minute by a header from Dominic Solanke.

Solanke expressed his delight with the game's outcome, highlighting that the "character shown was magnificent." He further added, “A few times we haven’t reacted in the right way when going a goal down, but today we showed fight and grit. I should have had a hat-trick. I wasn’t clinical enough. I know that. But I kept going. I was getting in the right positions to put one away. It’s my first time being captain for a great club. To score as well. It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my career. It’s something to build on. We haven’t been good enough this (season). Hopefully this is the start of something good.” He concluded, “In the first half we dominated. We weren’t clinical enough – a story of the season. We could have been a few goals ahead. We’ll take a point.”