Roberto De Zerbi hits back at criticism after win at much-changed Aston Villa | OneFootball

Roberto De Zerbi has snapped back at criticism in the wake of Tottenham’s 2-1 win at a much-changed Aston Villa.

Spurs secured a vital three points in their quest to beat relegation on Sunday night against a Villa team showing seven changes from their Europa League semi-final first leg tie with Nottingham Forest.

A poor Villa display sparked a wave of strong reaction in the media over Unai Emery’s line-up and talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan described the performance as a “disgrace” and felt sorry for 18th-placed West Ham.

However, De Zerbi questioned why there was no similar view on Forest’s rotated team in the 3-1 win at Chelsea on Monday.

“Yes, but for Nottingham Forest no? Nottingham Forest, the first XI was maybe (containing) more changes than Aston Villa, no? And (the) first half (was) 2-0 for Nottingham Forest – and (has) anyone said nothing (sic)? No,” De Zerbi pointed out.

“I think Aston Villa have (Matty) Cash, (Victor) Lindelof, I don’t know how many years at Manchester United, (Tyrone) Mings, the captain of Villa, (Ian) Maatsen, one of the best left-backs in Europe, regarding Youri Tielemans, Tielemans is normally in the starting XI, (Morgan) Rogers, (Jadon) Sancho, (Ross) Barkley and (Tammy) Abraham as a forward and striker, I think was a great first XI.

“I don’t know if they are better or worse. I can say one thing, we played without (Cristian) Romero, (Dejan) Kulusevski, (Mohammed) Kudus, (Dominic) Solanke, Xavi Simons, (James) Maddison and maybe more players than Villa.

“And it is better if the people speak about us than we speak about them.”

Asked whether the fall-out had been a surprise, De Zerbi said: “No, in Italy we are used to thinking in the bad way about this situation, but it is not true. It is not true.”

Joao Palhinha starred in Sunday’s win at Villa and ahead of Monday’s visit of Leeds, De Zerbi revealed he “100 per cent” wants to keep the Bayern Munich loanee.

Palhinha joined last August on a season-long loan in a deal which included the option to make the move permanent for a fee of 30million euros.

De Zerbi added: “Yes, 100 per cent. We have to start from this type of people. More than players, we need reliable people, reliable players.

“Palhinha is one of the best, as a player for sure, but as a guy (also). I want to see the player with the same passion, the same attitude, the same spirit, the same personality. And we are lucky to have with us Palhinha.”

Spurs remain without Guglielmo Vicario (hernia) but Solanke (hamstring) was not ruled out of the Leeds clash.

Maddison has been on the bench for Tottenham’s last three fixtures after a serious knee injury and De Zerbi remained coy on his availability.

“No, Vicario is not ready yet,” De Zerbi explained.

“I’m thinking about James Maddison because I’m watching a top, top player.

“Maybe he’s not ready yet to play, but as a physical condition, not for the rhythm, for the intensity of the game. We are playing in the Premier League, the most difficult league in terms of intensity and rhythm.

“About Solanke, he’s improving very quickly. I don’t know, for this game, I don’t know if he can be available. We hope for the next game (Chelsea).”