Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho parked the bus at Liverpool FC tonight, but it still wasn’t enough to get the result. With the hosts triumphing 2-1, it is now six straight losses versus Liverpool for Spurs and just one win in their last 18 against the Merseyside club.
After the match, Mourinho said in his television interview that his side deserved to win, and that he told his opposing counterpart, Jurgen Klopp that the best team had lost. He was also critical of Klopp’s touchline behavior, saying that if he himself acted in such a manner he would get ejected.
Jose Mourinho on Jurgen Klopp:
? "I told him the best team lost, He didn't agree.
"By the way, if I behaved the way he does on the touchline, I would have no chance." [Amazon]
— GOAL (@goal) December 16, 2020
Mourinho said that he would have “no chance” at being allowed to stay on the touchline if he behaved as Klopp did, but when asked to elaborate further, by the television interviewer, he stopped short of really hitting out at the Reds boss.
“I say that for some reason I am different,” Mourinho responded. “That is all I say.”
During the postgame handshakes, the two men had an exchange that looked rather testy, but still ended with a smile. When asked about the conversation with Mourinho after the match, Klopp downplayed the idea of tension between the two men.
Klopp didn’t say much when asked what the Portugese said to him.
“Nothing really serious,” the German responded to his post-match television interviewer, when asked the content of the convo.
“All fine, no argument,” he said smiling.
Mourinho maintained that the best team lost, despite the fact that the Reds outshot Spurs 17-8 (11-2 advantage in shots on goal) and won possession 76%-24%. Mo Salah opened the scoring in the 26′ before Son Heung-Min equalized in the 33′.
10 in the box for a
Mourinho masterclass #LIVTOT pic.twitter.com/ZX6iipnurF— Trebbo (@treblinho11) December 16, 2020
Roberto Firmino netted the game winner as regulation turned to injury time.
“We had the chances, we had the game under control,” Mourinho said.
“A draw would be a bad result in relation to this performance, so you can imagine who we feel with the defeat,” he continued, describing the match, for his side as “a great performance,” and “a very unfair result.”
Mourinho was content to have his team sit back, defend, and hope for something to happen on the counter-attack.
That's how it's supposed to be #ParkTheBus #LIVTOT pic.twitter.com/vpBWO7nQRc
— Tayfun Esin (@tayfunesinn) December 16, 2020
In the end though, the more courageous and adventurous side bested the team with the more “pragmatic” approach.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.