Chelsea Tekuk Tottenham Hotspur dalam Persaingan Degradasi Liga Primer

Chelsea mengalahkan Tottenham Hotspur dengan skor 2-1 di Stadion Stamford Bridge pada Selasa malam, 19 Mei 2026, yang membuat skuad asuhan Roberto De Zerbi gagal mengunci posisi aman dan harus melanjutkan perjuangan menghindari zona degradasi Liga Primer Inggris hingga pekan terakhir.

Dilansir dari Heavy.com, hasil pertandingan ini membuat Tottenham kini hanya terpaut dua poin di atas West Ham United yang berada di peringkat ke-18. Skuad De Zerbi menempati peringkat ke-17 dengan 38 poin, sementara Burnley dan Wolves sudah dipastikan terdegradasi dari kompetisi tertinggi.

Persaingan ketat ini memicu sorotan karena Tottenham memiliki anggaran gaji yang sangat besar untuk ukuran tim yang terancam turun kasta. Berdasarkan data Spotrac, tagihan upah pemain klub London Utara tersebut mencapai lebih dari 179 juta dolar AS, yang merupakan tertinggi keenam di Liga Primer.

Sebelum pertandingan melawan Chelsea berlangsung, manajer Tottenham Roberto De Zerbi sempat mengingatkan semua pihak untuk tetap fokus pada sisa laga dan enggan membicarakan masa depan tim.

"We can’t forget one month ago what was the situation. We are not safe yet," kata Roberto De Zerbi, Manajer Tottenham Hotspur.

De Zerbi menegaskan bahwa fokus utama timnya saat itu adalah berjuang keras di lapangan demi meraih poin penentu.

"It is not correct if I answer you now. Before answering your question, we have to [take] a point in the Premier League and especially in the Premier League to [take] one point, you have to fight and play very well. We have to keep focused on the game and then we can answer and make a big press conference. But now is not the right time," ujar Roberto De Zerbi, Manajer Tottenham Hotspur.

Di sisi lain, suporter Tottenham tetap memberikan apresiasi tinggi terhadap dampak yang dibawa oleh sang manajer asal Italia tersebut sejak mendarat di London Utara.

"If we pull off the miracle of survival, then they need to build a statue of Roberto De Zerbi," kata Bob Cowell, Suporter Tottenham.

Cowell menilai De Zerbi berhasil membangkitkan mentalitas tim setelah periode buruk di bawah kepemimpinan manajer-manajer sebelumnya.

"He has simply been sensational. We were at a lost cause until he came in. The appalling appointments of Thomas Frank and Ivan Tudor have been shown up by the Italian. They were frozen like rabbits in headlights, offering the players poor coaching, displaying weak communication, and being dismissive of the fans. De Zerbi has been a breath of fresh air, telling the players how good they are- and the difference has been stark," ujar Bob Cowell, Suporter Tottenham.

Ia juga menambahkan bahwa kekhawatiran sempat memuncak setelah hasil pertandingan rival mereka, namun nasib klub kini sepenuhnya berada di tangan para pemain sendiri.

"I was more nervous after West Ham’s defeat to Newcastle. The Great Escape is purely down to us now- one point in two games and we are safe. But going to Chelsea is a regular ‘L’ on the coupon. Generations of fans can’t even remember us winning at Stamford Bridge but it’s there for the taking," kata Bob Cowell, Suporter Tottenham.

Cowell berharap para pemain bisa tampil habis-habisan di laga terakhir tanpa memikirkan masalah internal kepemilikan klub terlebih dahulu.

"There’s time to get angry about the plight of the club, and how bad we have been for so long. But serious issues with the owners can wait – we just need to knuckle down and eek out another point to stay in the prem," ujar Bob Cowell, Suporter Tottenham.

Sementara itu, kekecewaan mendalam dirasakan oleh kubu West Ham United setelah mereka gagal memanfaatkan momentum akibat menelan kekalahan 3-1 dari Newcastle United di St James' Park pada hari Minggu sebelumnya.

"We had all the momentum, clawing back 13 points on Spurs since January, when everyone thought we were already down. It’s heartbreaking because it feels like we did all the hard work. Only to throw away the chance we had of survival," kata Matt Parker, Suporter West Ham.

Parker mengkritik keputusan pemilihan taktik manajer Nuno Espirito Santo yang dinilai keliru dalam pertandingan krusial tersebut.

"Nuno has been terrific for us, but it looks like the stress of it all has even reached him. We’ve taken no points from our last three games at the business end of the season, and the manager started with the wrong team against Newcastle," ujar Matt Parker, Suporter West Ham.

Ia memaklumi kemarahan para pendukung yang mencemooh tim karena menganggap para pemain tampil tanpa gairah juang.

"I don’t blame the fans for booing the team, because in a “must-win” game we just froze. The least you expect is fight and passion. Nuno made early substitutions acknowledging he got the line-up wrong, but by then it was too late," kata Matt Parker, Suporter West Ham.

Parker pun mulai pasrah dengan ancaman degradasi yang bisa membuat bintang-bintang tim hengkang ke klub lain.

"Relegation is now inevitable. I hope we keep Nuno to try and bring us straight back. But it will be far from easy- especially as we will clearly sell our better players. Fernandes and Bowen are too good for the Championship," ujar Matt Parker, Suporter West Ham.

Ia menutup keluhannya dengan menyoroti dampak jangka panjang serta atmosfer kompetisi kasta kedua yang harus mereka hadapi musim depan.

"The club has been a mess. Next season, other teams will view a trip to our 60,000- seater stadium as a Cup Final. And Millwall will be lying in wait for us. We will get what we deserve," kata Matt Parker, Suporter West Ham.

Ancaman degradasi West Ham tidak hanya berdampak pada aspek olahraga, melainkan juga finansial kota London. Dilansir dari AOL.com, Walikota London Sadiq Khan menjelaskan dampak kerugian finansial dari sewa stadion jika West Ham terdegradasi.

"If West Ham are relegated, we, the taxpayers, we City Hall, could lose up to £2.5m a year," kata Sadiq Khan, Walikota London.

Oleh karena itu, Khan mengimbau warga London untuk memberikan dukungan moral agar klub tersebut tetap bertahan di kasta tertinggi.

"So what I say to Londoners who don’t support Spurs is you should probably be cheering on West Ham, because the taxpayer will lose out if West Ham go down," ujar Sadiq Khan, Walikota London.

Pada pertandingan pamungkas, Tottenham Hotspur dijadwalkan menjamu Everton di kandang sendiri, sementara West Ham United akan menghadapi Leeds United.