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 from 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 own European ambitions.
Tottenham showed plenty of battling spirit but not a great deal of attacking quality as their winless run in the Premier League stretched to 14 games.
They have 30 points from 32 games, two points 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 points behind sixth-placed Chelsea who are in action later at home to Manchester City.
West Ham's thrashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday meant Tottenham started at the Stadium of Light in 18th place and with a first relegation since 1977 looming large.
Victory would have taken them above West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United, but in truth it never looked likely despite a reasonably bright start to the game.
Tottenham 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 a VAR review.
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 around was evident around the hour mark as another dark chapter was added to the depressing Tottenham narrative, Reuters reported.
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.
Minutes later Tottenham captain Cristian Romero collided with his keeper Kinsky under pressure from Brobbey and was forced off in tears while Kinsky, in for 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.
