Roberto De Zerbi explained that he made Dominic Solanke skipper against United ‘to show my confidence’.
The striker responded with a late equaliser to earn us a much-deserved point at Old Trafford on Saturday.
It was looking like a frustrating evening in Manchester as we’d dominated for long periods only to find ourselves 1-0 down and then reduced to 10 men following Rodrigo Bentancur’s red card.
Manchester United 1-1 Spurs | Key Highlights | 2026/27
The team found another gear, and were rewarded when Dominic won the physical battle in front of goal with Lisandro Martinez to glance home Sandro Tonali’s cross for 1-1 in the 92nd minute.
Asked in his post-match press conference why he had made the call to make Dominic skipper, Roberto replied: “After the last game, the criticism, I wanted to put him captain to show my confidence and the confidence of the team, because all other players were happy when I said Domi Solanke was captain. When one player of us is in a difficult situation, all other players and staff and myself, we have to show to be close with him, like a family, like a team, like a normal team."
Speaking to us further about what that goal would do for Dom, Roberto added: “He deserved everything he did today.
“He's a great guy, great player, he suffered for the criticism, because we didn't score, we didn't win, we have no striker, no, no, we have the striker and we have a great striker.
“I think in this moment for us, we can't find a striker better than Dominic Solanke, he has to improve in physical condition, in confidence, and he was captain for that reason.”
"We didn’t deserve to lose" - De Zerbi proud of togetherness in Man United draw