Roberto De Zerbi questions Tottenham’s character and demands ‘honest’ Leeds debrief after wilting at Elland Road: ‘We won no duels, no one-to-ones, we deserved to lose’

Roberto De Zerbi questioned Tottenham’s character after his side’s second-half surrender saw them slip to defeat at Leeds.

Noah Okafor’s late strike sealed the points for the home side as Spurs – who played encouragingly before the break – had no answer to the home side’s rhythm.

De Zerbi said: ‘In the second half, I don’t know why, we suffered too much and deserved to lose. We won no duels, no one-to-ones. There was space to play and we didn’t take the right decisions.

‘We didn’t show personality or what we are, who we are. It’s a part of the journey. It’s not an excuse and it can be normal in football but we have to be honest.

‘If you are not honest today the future is not good. If we analyse our second-half behaviour honestly then I think we can become a top team.

‘We have the physicality and the quality but it’s not just about the physicality game. We didn’t show character, personality or courage.

Roberto De Zerbi says his Spurs side lacked 'character and courage' in their 1-0 loss to Leeds

Noah Okafor netted the winner for the hosts at Elland Road as Spurs lost control of the game

‘My players have the ability to come here, play better and maybe win. But maybe we are not ready yet to be consistent for many games in a row. We know where we have to work and improve.

‘I was surprised by the second half as my players worked very well this week. We spoke all week about the intensity and the type of game we would find here in this stadium so it was not a surprise for us.’

De Zerbi also feared Mathys Tel has suffered a bad injury following a tackle from Jayden Bogle at the end of the first half that was checked by VAR for a possible red card.

Tel was forced off after Bogle’s studs made heavy contact with his ankle, and will undergo scans. De Zerbi would not be drawn on whether Bogle should have been shown a red card but said referee John Brooks’ ‘parameters were not good enough’ in handling the situation.