Rodrigo Bentancur’s eventful cameo at Old Trafford left Roberto De Zerbi facing an unexpected problem, just a day after the Tottenham boss had made his feelings about the midfielder’s mentality clear.In a season of lows so far for Tottenham Hotspur, Rodrigo Bentancur has been one of the few positives. Few would have expected the Uruguay international to emerge as the club’s standout midfielder, especially after Spurs spent £185 million on the position in the summer, bringing in Sandro Tonali for £100m and Mateus Fernandes for £85m.Bentancur had even led the Premier League charts for defensive contributions per 90 minutes until this week. However, Roberto De Zerbi left him out of the starting XI against Manchester United, explaining that the midfielder had travelled extensively with his international team over the previous three weeks.Bentancur was introduced around the hour mark, but his evening lasted just 12 minutes. After Luke Shaw pushed him to the ground following a dangerous tackle from the Uruguayan, Bentancur lost his head and headbutted the Man United fullback, leaving the referee with little choice but to send him off.Despite being reduced to 10 men, Tottenham rescued a point in stoppage time as Dominic Solanke headed home Tonali’s cross.Credit: @thefrederikkejensen / InstagramRodrigo Bentancur’s red card could prove costly for TottenhamDespite the draw, several Spurs supporters have accused Bentancur of sabotaging his own team’s chances. Tottenham had been the more dominant side for large periods and could have left Old Trafford with all three points had they maintained their numerical advantage.The direct red card also means De Zerbi will be without the services of his most in-form midfielder for Tottenham’s next three Premier League fixtures – against Coventry, Chelsea and Crystal Palace.It is difficult to understand the decision to react that way when Spurs were only a goal behind, still had time to get back into the game and had been performing well. And ironically, the Tottenham head coach had singled out Bentancur’s mentality as one of his greatest strengths, in the pre-match press conference on Friday. In his own words, which make for an awkward reading now: “Bentancur has one of the best professional mentalities. He is ready to play tomorrow. For sure you have to consider the trip and the distance from India to England, but he is already in the club. “We spoke yesterday morning and he is on the same page as us. He is a player used to playing with the national team. We bought Tonali and Fernandes, but we didn’t forget Bentancur, Bergvall.”Roberto De Zerbi says he ‘kissed’ Rodrigo Bentancur after the red cardAs avoidable as the incident was, it happened in the heat of the moment, and there is little to be gained from dwelling on it now. It is frustrating for Tottenham fans to watch their team get so close to a result, only to somehow find themselves behind. The players, unfortunately, are the ones living through those moments on the pitch.And De Zerbi appeared stunned after the red card. Having finally taken a seat during the match, the Italian was left staring in disbelief before leaping up to celebrate when Solanke found the equaliser.Asked about the dismissal and what he had said to Bentancur afterwards, De Zerbi revealed: “I kissed Rodrigo, and I said thanks, because it’s clear it’s a mistake from Rodrigo, because it’s not the right reaction in football, but now Tottenham needs to react. Sometimes the reactions are not nice, not positive for the team, but I think in that moment, in 10 players, maybe we played with more courage, we played with more energy, and we changed the game.“From a long time Tottenham played without this blood, this character, and I want it. Now I am the coach, and I want to see this character every game, because Manchester United in the second half showed character, not just the quality. Just with the quality, we can’t win the games.“With the qualities, with the character, with the right energy, I think we are going to win many games, and we are going to score many goals.”READ MORE: Five games that will define Tottenham’s 26/27 season, and our score predictionsThe post One Roberto De Zerbi quote aged horribly within 24 hours after Tottenham’s draw with Man United appeared first on Spurs Web.