Brighton outplayed Tottenham and were robbed by the officials in Saturday's 2-1 defeat in north London, but the match was still a poor audition for the Spurs job from Roberto De Zerbi.
The Italian seemed determined to impose himself on both the occasion and Spurs's acting head coach Cristian Stellini, angrily berating his opposite number before kick-off. Afterwards, De Zerbi accused Stellini of "disrespecting" him, but refused to say how (the most plausible explanation is that De Zerbi misconstrued some of Stellini's mild and complimentary remarks at his pre-match press conference).
De Zerbi would never have behaved the same way if Antonio Conte — or, indeed, any permanent manager — was in charge of Spurs and, really, he was the one showing disrespect by attempting to rattle Stellini, himself still a novice at this level.
In the end, De Zerbi appeared flustered and was sent off, along with the very unlucky Stellini, prompting Spurs to push on and score a late winner.
