Sunderland and Tottenham Hotspur have cancelled each other out during the first half of their Premier League clash at the Stadium of Light.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side gave a good account of themselves on both ends of the pitch, although they are no closer to the three points they desperately crave.
Sunderland, for their part, have also fared quite well – as they always do at home – making it an intriguing Premier League contest.
The first half had everything but goals, including VAR drama and questionable refereeing decisions.
And Jamie O’Hara feels Sunderland should have been down to 10 men after Brian Brobbey’s foul on Pedro Porro.
Were Tottenham hard done by?
As for the VAR drama, Tottenham were initially awarded a penalty after Randal Kolo Muani went down in the box.
However, VAR asked referee Rob Jones to look at the pitchside monitor to reconsider his decision, after which the decision was overturned.
Moments later, Brobbey was booked for a foul on Pedro Porro as he appeared to have violently tugged him down near the touchline.
And O’Hara feels the rash challenge should have seen the Dutch international receive his marching orders as he got away with an earlier foul on Cristian Romero.
“Brobbey should have been sent off,” said O’Hara on Sky Sports News.
“He should have had two bookings.
“His foul on Pedro Porro should be a red. The ref gives him a yellow for it, but he should already be on a yellow from his tackle on Romero earlier in the game.
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“Spurs have Van de Ven and Romero on yellow cards. Two players who can make rash tackles. Spurs cannot afford to go down to 10 men.”
To be honest, we’re not sure if Brobbey’s initial challenge on Romero was worthy of a yellow card as it was so early in the game.
He was rightly booked for a foul on Porro, so maybe O’Hara has just let his love for Tottenham cloud his judgement here.
Tottenham show flashes of De Zerbi-ball
Ahead of the game, De Zerbi said he wants his Tottenham side to emulate Ange-ball, with the Australian the last manager to adopt a brand of attractive football at Hotspur Way.
And while everything didn’t click into gear, the away side showed a lot of intensity and created a few half-chances. Defensively, once again, they weren’t where they should be as Sunderland created chances too.
But De Zerbi has only been around for a week and seems to have already got his players on his side, which is a good sign for Tottenham as they fight to avoid the drop.
