Roberto De Zerbi says Tottenham survival fight matters more than trophies after Chelsea defeat

• Roberto De Zerbi says Tottenham’s final game against Everton is more important than last season’s Europa League final.
• Spurs remain in danger of relegation after a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
• Tottenham now head into the final day needing a result to guarantee Premier League survival.

Roberto De Zerbi has declared Tottenham’s fight to avoid relegation more important than winning trophies after Tottenham Hotspur slipped to a damaging 2-1 defeat against Chelsea on Tuesday night.

Spurs travelled to Stamford Bridge knowing a point would almost certainly secure their Premier League status for another season, but instead left west London facing a tense final day.

Enzo Fernández gave Chelsea the lead with a superb long-range strike before Andrey Santos doubled the advantage in the second half.

Richarlison pulled one back with 16 minutes remaining and Tottenham pushed desperately for an equaliser, but Chelsea held on.

The defeat leaves Spurs two points above West Ham United heading into the final weekend of the season, although Tottenham still hold a significantly superior goal difference.

Tottenham now host Everton on Sunday, while West Ham face Leeds United at the London Stadium.

Speaking afterwards, De Zerbi made it clear just how much survival means to the club.

“Sunday is the final for Tottenham, not in Bilbao against Man United last season, but this is the most important game,” he said.

“We play for something more important than the trophy — the pride, the history of the club, the dignity are more important than the trophy.

“The trophy you can win, but the most important thing is to keep the dignity, to keep the pride.”

The Italian added that the entire club has been consumed by the survival battle over recent weeks.

“I have lived the last 45 days just for one thing,” De Zerbi said.

“Every one of the players, their focus is on the target of survival. They are working harder during the week and every one of us want to achieve that goal.”

There was at least some encouragement for Spurs in the performance of James Maddison, who impressed after coming off the bench as he continues his recovery from a serious ACL injury.

De Zerbi admitted the midfielder is still not ready for a full match and is currently limited to short appearances.

Late in the game Tottenham thought they might have been awarded a penalty after a clash between Marc Cucurella and Micky van de Ven inside the box.

However, referee Stuart Attwell ruled the corner had not yet been taken and no penalty was awarded.

De Zerbi refused to criticise the officials and instead called on supporters to help drag the team over the line on Sunday.

“They have been fantastic, fantastic and we have to say thanks,” he said.

“If we talk about the penalty then we lose focus and we lose energy. My focus is on the best 11 I can get and to prepare them in the best way. It’s a big day for us.”

Chelsea interim manager Calum McFarlane also addressed concerns surrounding the fitness of Reece James and Levi Colwill after both were left out of the starting lineup.

“Levi has come off the back of a serious injury so it was too quick a turnaround after the cup final — we couldn’t risk him tonight,” McFarlane explained.

“Reece is the same. We didn’t want to risk him.”

He also confirmed João Pedro is dealing with a minor injury ahead of Chelsea’s final-day trip to Sunderland.

McFarlane praised his side’s response following defeat in the FA Cup final at Wembley.

“It was good to get the win,” he said.

“It was obvious from minute one that we didn’t always have the energy we needed after the psychological and physical load the FA Cup final put on us.

“I thought we deserved the 2-0 lead, and Spurs showed more energy towards the end. They had more time to prepare for the game. We just needed to dig in for the result.”