De Zerbi praises Tottenham response after Bentancur red card at Manchester United

Roberto de Zerbi praised the response Rodrigo Bentancur helped provoke in Tottenham's 1-1 draw at Manchester United, despite the midfielder being sent off for headbutting Luke Shaw. According to BBC Sport's report of the manager's post-match comments, De Zerbi acknowledged Bentancur's mistake but said Spurs showed greater courage and energy after going down to 10 men.

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Bentancur received his red card in the 78th minute at Old Trafford, with Tottenham trailing 1-0. The confrontation followed a challenge by the Uruguay midfielder on Shaw, who ran towards him and pushed him off the pitch. Bentancur then moved his head towards Shaw's face. Team-mates separated the players before referee Stuart Attwell dismissed the Spurs substitute.

Tottenham recovered a point through Dominic Solanke, who headed in an equaliser in the second minute of added time. De Zerbi said in his press conference that he had thanked Bentancur, linking the team's late response to a level of determination he felt had been missing. In separate comments to Sky Sports, he described the dismissal as a mistake while stressing that Tottenham needed the willingness to resist defeat, rather than red cards themselves.

The late goal did not end Tottenham's difficult start to the league campaign. Spurs remained in the relegation zone with three points from six matches and were still awaiting their first Premier League victory of the season. BBC Sport reported that this was only the fourth time the club had gone without a win in its opening six league games, following 2008-09, 1955-56 and 1912-13.

Scoring has also been a problem. Tottenham had managed only three league goals, with 19th-placed Coventry the only side to have scored fewer. De Zerbi nevertheless welcomed the collective effort at Old Trafford, saying his players had attacked and defended together and stayed involved throughout the match. He presented that shared approach as something the squad needed to develop further.

The manager's comments came after a summer in which Tottenham added 10 players and spent more than £250m on new signings, according to BBC Sport. Their next league opponents are newly promoted Coventry on Monday, 19 October, before a trip to Chelsea the following Saturday.