SUNDERLAND, England, April 12 (Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur's relegation fears deepened as manager Roberto de Zerbi's first game in charge ended in a 1-0 defeat by Sunderland that left the London club third-bottom of the Premier League on Sunday.
It was a familiar tale of woe for Tottenham as Nordi Mukiele's wickedly deflected shot just past the hour mark sealed their fate and gave Sunderland a deserved win that boosted their European ambitions.
Tottenham showed battling spirit but not a great deal of attacking quality as their winless league run stretched to 14 games, their worst since 1935 when they were relegated.
They have 30 points from 32 games, two behind West Ham United who are one place above the drop zone. Sunderland's first Premier League win against Tottenham since 2010 left them in 10th with 46 points, two behind sixth-placed Chelsea who are in action later at home to Manchester City.
If it had not already dawned on Tottenham fans that a first relegation since 1977 was looming large, West Ham's thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday to leave Tottenham below the trap door for the first time this season meant the alarm bells were ringing loudly ahead of the Stadium of Light clash.
Victory would have taken them above West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, but it rarely looked likely.
"I cannot say anything to players because they gave their best in terms of attitude and spirit," said De Zerbi, Tottenham's third manager this season. "I'm sure if we are able to win a game then everything will change."
Tottenham began brightly and thought they had earned a penalty when Randal Kolo Muani went down in the penalty area under a challenge from Luke O'Nien with referee Robert Jones initially pointing to the spot, only to change his mind after being instructed by VAR to check the pitch-side monitor.
BETTER CHANCES
Sunderland created the better chances, though, with Mukiele heading wide, former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka flashing a shot past the post and Tottenham keeper Antonin Kinsky making a fine save to deny Brian Brobbey on the stroke of halftime.
The ill-fortune that often follows relegation-bound sides was evident around the hour mark as another dark chapter was added to the depressing Tottenham narrative.
Mukiele was allowed to cut in from the right and his powerful shot struck Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven to leave Kinsky hopelessly wrong-footed as the ball nestled into the back of the net.
Tottenham captain Cristian Romero collided with his keeper Kinsky under pressure from Brobbey and was forced off in tears while Kinsky, replacing the injured Guglielmo Vicario, played the rest of the game with his head bandaged.
Sunderland never really looked like relinquishing their lead although Pedro Porro did force a save from Robin Roefs deep into stoppage time with a stinging drive.
With Sunderland under Regis Le Bris dreaming of qualifying for Europe, Tottenham's thoughts are now simply on the six games they have left to save themselves, starting next week at home to De Zerbi's former club Brighton & Hove Albion.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman,Editing by Christian Radnedge and Ede Osmond)
