De Zerbi has delivered a passionate defense of Bentancur, revealing he kissed the midfielder in the dressing room despite his costly red card during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United. The Uruguay international was sent off in the second half following a heated touchline altercation with United defender Luke Shaw. The incident occurred shortly after Spurs had fallen behind, leaving the visitors with a mountain to climb as they searched for their first Premier League victory of the new campaign.
“Today we show we are a team for the first time this season,” the Italian told Sky Sports. “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 [Bentancur] 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.”
He added: “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 Bentancur in the dressing room because we need this reaction, this type of reaction with character. Football is character.”