The Aporia · Why Mathys Tel was not in Tottenham squad for Aston Villa defeat

Why Mathys Tel was not in Tottenham squad for Aston Villa defeat

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Smith, D. (2026, September 19). Why Mathys Tel was not in Tottenham squad for Aston Villa defeat. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/why-tel-not-in-tottenham-squad-aston-villa-b1297608.html

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Tottenham Hotspur coach Antonio Conte's successor, De Zerbi, explained why midfielder Mathys Tel did not play in Tottenham’s loss to Aston Villa. De Zerbi cited technical reasons, stating that other players like Maddison and Kudus had better opportunities to impact the game. He also mentioned he informed Tel of his non-selection the previous day without causing any issues between them.

Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

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Story summary

After Tottenham's defeat against Aston Villa in a Champions League match on Friday, manager Antonio Conte was replaced by former Sassuolo boss Nuno Espirito Santo. However, under Nuno’s successor, new Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino's assistant, Cristian Stellini, Mathys Tel did not feature as expected. Instead, Italian coach Hugo Borches de Zerbi, who took over recently from Nuno, decided Mathys Tel would sit out the match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. De Zerbi cited that players like James Maddison and Mohammed Kudus had better chances to impact the game positively compared to Tel. He informed Tel about his benching on Friday directly and noted it was a technical decision based partly on physical condition needs for some other players heading into an international break. Despite this, de Zerbi did not conduct a post-match team talk after the defeat.

Written for “Tottenham Squad Roster Decisions” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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How to watch Tottenham vs Aston Villa: TV channel and live stream for Premier League today Different event

Evening Standard

Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 64/100

“While both articles are related to a match between Tottenham and Aston Villa, Article A discusses team transfers and performance in a previous match, while Article B focuses on Mathys Tel's absence from the squad for the upcoming match against Aston Villa.”

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0 of 9 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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Who wrote this

Dom Smith

98 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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All 98 articles by Dom Smith →

Claims (9 extracted, 0 hedged)

After the match, De Zerbi was asked why Tel was uninvolved against the Champions League side. asserted

Tel → ask → side

“Technical decision,” the Italian said. asserted

Italian → say → ?

“He was in the stands, because I think during the game, [James] Maddison and [Mohammed] Kudus, they had more chances to change the game, and then two centre-backs, important. asserted

they → think → game

“Also the two full-backs, have a look for Pedro Porro, with Archie Gray, and the two central midfielders.” asserted

backs → have → Gray

De Zerbi explained how he informed Tel that he would not feature at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. asserted

he → explain → Stadium

“I explained why to Mathys yesterday [Friday],” he said. asserted

he → explain → Mathys

He was very nice and he understood the reason, but nothing more, and also he played more than the others.” De Zerbi said “maybe it is better” that he does not see many of his players for the next three weeks as they head off on a prolonged international break. asserted

they → understand → break

He also revealed he did not hold a team talk with his players in the dressing room after the defeat against Villa. “I didn't speak with the players today because I didn't want to say anything,” he said. asserted

he → reveal → anything

“I have nothing with them, but the players who go with the national team, they have to play and they have to work, and the other players — Maddison, [Conor] Gallagher, [Dominic] Solanke, Tosin [Adarabioyo], [Marcos] Senesi, Savio — for sure, we have to work more, because also the physical condition, I didn't like this game.” asserted

I → go → game

Why Mathys Tel was not in Tottenham squad for Aston Villa defeat

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