De Zerbi praises Tottenham full-backs despite Villa defeat

Aston Villa returned from north London with a 3-2 victory on Saturday, leaving Tottenham Hotspur rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table. The result extended Spurs' winless start to the domestic campaign to five matches, yet manager Roberto De Zerbi emerged from the fixture insisting his squad contains some of the finest defenders in the division.

According to TEAMtalk, the Italian singled out Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie and Andrew Robertson when discussing his back line. Despite having conceded eight goals across those opening five league outings, De Zerbi told reporters he cannot alter his view of the players available to him, describing that particular group of defenders as potentially unrivalled anywhere else in the English top flight.

The report notes that more than £300million was spent reshaping the Tottenham squad over the summer, though early returns have been poor. De Zerbi, who signed a five-year contract after being appointed with seven matches of last season remaining to steer the club clear of relegation, urged patience rather than drastic tactical changes.

He also spoke positively about his attacking options, naming Marmoush, Savio and Solanke as high-quality forwards, while highlighting the varied attributes of James Maddison, Mohammed Kudus, Conor Gallagher and Mateus Fernandes in midfield. His overarching message was one of calm, suggesting that improved performances would eventually yield more than the two points currently on the board.

For Villa, the weekend provided further evidence of their capability on the road. Having already won 3-2 at Club Brugge in the Champions League earlier this month, Unai Emery's side showed character again to take all three points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the upcoming break in fixtures.

Villa return to Premier League action at Villa Park against Brentford on Saturday 10 October.