Speaking after the game, De Zerbi said Richarlison had not clarified if he was going to depart this summer. \u201cI don\u2019t know, I didn\u2019t understand well, because sometimes he said to stay, sometimes he leaves, we have to speak. Anyway, there is not any problem, he\u2019s a lovely guy. All of us love him, the teammates, the club, the staff, because he works hard every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richarlison has less than a year left on his contract after joining Tottenham from Everton in 2022. He has struggled to find consistent form during his time in north London but De Zerbi said it would be difficult to replace his goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me he\u2019s still an important player because it\u2019s not so easy to find another striker as Richarlison, because Richarlison scored goals and he knows the way. The new striker, we don\u2019t know, the other striker, we don\u2019t know. He [Richarlison] scored 12 goals last season, not for luck, because he feels the way to score.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richarlison bagged a 92nd-minute winner for Tottenham against Chelsea in front of more than 80,000 fans at Sydney\u2019s Accor Stadium. The Brazilian was the first player to react after Jamie Donley\u2019s shot came back off a post, prodding the ball into an empty net to avert the need for a penalty shootout.<\/p>\n
It was the first time that the two sides have met outside the UK and the match started in the spirit of a true London derby. Conor Gallagher flew into a challenge on D\u00e1rio Essugo after 10 minutes, picking up a yellow card and a fair few heckles from the largely Chelsea-supporting crowd. Jan Paul van Hecke clattered into Jo\u00e3o Pedro, while Dominic Solanke and Levi Colwill tussled off the ball.<\/p>\n
This fixture has had its fair share of red cards over the years and there was another one to add to the list, after Danso was sent off three minutes after coming off the bench. A poor surface got the better of the Spurs defender as he failed to control a backpass, allowing Jo\u00e3o Pedro to run on to the ball and through on goal. Danso lunged headfirst into the Chelsea forward, with the referee reaching straight for his pocket.<\/p>\n
Kevin Danso is shown a red card three minutes after coming on as a substitute. Photograph: David Neilson\/EPA<\/p>\n
De Zerbi said the sending off made the game harder for both sides. \u201cIt was worse for us and for Chelsea, because if you consider the condition of the pitch, very bad. And if you consider we are starting from two weeks, maybe less than three weeks, the second half you start the fatigue and playing, attacking against 10 players behind the line of the ball is tough for every team.\u201d<\/p>\n
De Zerbi\u2019s side were on top in the early stages and took a deserved lead on 17 minutes when the new signing Sandro Tonali scored his first goal for Tottenham. The midfielder\u2019s side-footed effort from outside the area took a deflection, wrong-footing the Chelsea goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe before nestling into the bottom corner.<\/p>\n
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