De Zerbi praises Spurs after 2-0 win at Chelsea

Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi hailed his side's collective and individual performances after a commanding 2-0 Premier League victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

"We played 90 minutes, we played very well, great individual performances, great collective performance," De Zerbi told reporters. "Then we put something different than Tottenham, I think, in the last period — different attitude, different relationships with the players, different group."

De Zerbi singled out Mateus Fernandes and Mathys Tel for particular praise among the younger players. "Mateus Fernandes maybe was one of the best players on the pitch, like Mathys Tel. Archie Gray is younger, but he's older as a mentality. I'm very, very happy," the Italian said.

On the subject of new signings, De Zerbi credited JP van Hecke, Sandro Tonali and Omar Marmoush, while identifying the two wingers as decisive. "I think we won the game with two wingers, Kudus and Mathys, they made the difference," he said, also noting that Tonali had produced "the best game in his time in Tottenham."

Micky van de Ven also drew special mention. "In my time, Micky van de Ven played the best game," De Zerbi added.

De Zerbi was asked about a large team meeting that preceded the recent upturn in form, which has brought Tottenham seven points from their last three matches. "A big, big meeting, removing the mask and speaking honestly, clearly in front of ourselves — from that moment, I think we changed something in ourselves," he explained.

There was a concern over James Maddison, who picked up a knock during the match. "I think it's not a very important problem. We need to make the medical check tomorrow," De Zerbi said. "He's a special player for us. We need him."

De Zerbi was also asked whether Cole Palmer could have received a second yellow card during the match. "Yep," he replied, before adding it was "not a problem" from Tottenham's perspective.

The manager closed by deflecting personal credit for the improved results. "I think the credit is for them. Now we have to keep this way," De Zerbi said of his squad.