Tottenham Coach Explains Kiss for Bentancur After Red Card Against Man United

Tottenham coach Roberto De Zerbi has shared that he kissed Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur in the dressing room after the team drew 1-1 with Manchester United on Saturday. He wanted to show that the club needed to show "character."

Bentancur came into the game in the 66th minute, replacing Lucas Bergvall. But he was sent off just 12 minutes later after having a clash with United’s left-back Luke Shaw. Bentancur was seen to headbutt Shaw, which led the referee to give him a straight red card.

De Zerbi criticized the red card but praised the team’s spirit. He spoke to Sky Sports after the match and said the dismissal was something to recognize.

"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 Italian coach said.

Bryan Mbeumo scored first for United in the 73rd minute after receiving a pass from Cunha. But the score was equalized in the 92nd minute with a header from Dominic Solanke.

Solanke expressed his happiness with the result, saying the "character shown was magnificent."

"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 added, "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."