LONDON -- Roberto De Zerbi has described Tottenham as "a complete team" after Saturday's 2-0 win at 10-man Chelsea.
Spurs secured only their second win at Stamford Bridge in 34 Premier League visits as Mike Penders' 77th-minute own goal and Mathys Tel's fine individual effort 10 minutes later secured a rare win.
Cole Palmer was sent off in between for two yellow cards, the first awarded for reacting to Mateus Fernandes as he handled to stop a Chelsea attack before receiving his marching orders for a late challenge on substitute Conor Gallagher.
Tottenham deserved their victory in what stands out as a landmark result of De Zerbi's tenure after a slow start to the season in which they sat bottom of the table despite spending around £400 million ($535m) on 10 new signings after narrowly avoiding relegation last term.
"It was a big moment for the fans, the club and the players also," he said. "They deserved this win, they prepared very well. We are improving a lot, we are improving in the mentality, in the group and the relationships with the players and then we are improving on the pitch.
"Against Aston Villa, Everton for 30 minutes we were playing very well. Maybe no goals, no finishing good enough to score and maybe in the first bad moment we changed mentality. Now it is a complete team. The players are playing better, we improved in the style.
"When we stay for dinner and stay together in the dressing room I see a different group, a different relationship and different atmosphere among the players."
De Zerbi revealed the squad held a meeting prior to the club's 1-1 draw at Manchester United earlier this month which he believes could be a turning point in their season.
"We are working to change the mentality of our club in the last season," he said. "Before Manchester, we spoke a lot, a big, big meeting, removing the mask and speaking honestly, clearly in front of ourselves. From that moment I think it changed something in ourselves."
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The only downside was an injury to James Maddison, who looked excellent but was forced off six minutes into the second half on only his second start in almost 18 months following ACL surgery.
De Zerbi said: "I think it is not a very important problem. We need to do the medical checks tomorrow, after tomorrow I don't know. I hope it is not a big problem because he is a special player for us. We need him."
