Tottenham's 2-0 win over Chelsea has given Roberto De Zerbi room to say the side he is coaching now looks different. He pointed to more than the scoreline, and to a meeting before Manchester United where the squad spoke honestly in front of itself.

De Zerbi's case for a different Tottenham

"Before Man Utd, we spoke a lot in a big, big meeting, removing the mask and speaking honestly, clearly in front of ourselves," De Zerbi said on Sky Sports. "And from that moment, I think we changed something in ourselves."

He added that it was "a different Tottenham" and said the change was about "different relationships with the players, different group", not just effort. That is a fair reading of the win itself. Mateus Fernandes had the most touches, passes, successful tackles and successful dribbles of any player on the pitch, which fits a team doing more things well at once.

The league table still keeps the story honest. Tottenham are 12th after eight matches with nine points, and their recent run is 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats. Chelsea are 4th with 13 points from eight matches, so the 2-0 result came against a side still close to the top end of the table.

Lange's defence of the rebuild

Johan Lange took the broader view and defended Spurs' summer spend. He said the club had invested well over £300m to sign eight first-team players, and argued the market has changed for everybody, not just Tottenham.

"Well, the prices. To a certain extent, you get used to them," Lange said. He also said the race to find overlooked players for a fraction of the cost is over, because rival clubs scout so well now. On his account, the rebuild was a response to a long decline, not a luxury project.

Lange said the club only secured safety on the final day last season after blowing through three managers, and that the board accepted the strategy because they could see Tottenham had ended up there after years of problems. That makes the scale of this summer easier to understand, even if it also raises the standard the club is now judged against.

The immediate test is whether the Chelsea result becomes a one-off or the start of something steadier. Tottenham's next league fixtures will show whether the meeting De Zerbi described has actually carried over onto the pitch.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →