Tottenham travelled to Belgium to take on Royal Antwerp tonight, but could not get a result as they lost 1-0. Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Jose Mourinho criticised the players for not taking their chance.
Spurs came into the game on the back of a two-match winning streak and looked to establish their lead in the group. But things did not go to plan as they suffered a defeat to the Belgian side.
One of the notable occurrences during the game was the four substitutions that Mourinho made at half time. This unusual move showed how dissatisfied the boss was with his players and Mourinho alluded to this in his post-match interview.
He spoke about how it was not fair to analyze players individually, but that these individual performances affected the way the team played. He went on to tell Sky Sports:
“I don’t want to analyse individually.
“I always like to think the players deserve an opportunity. We have a big squad with lots of good players. It’s my responsibility to give them opportunities but it’s also their opportunity to catch the chance with both hands and ask for more.
“Tonight shows my future choices are going to be very easy.”
This is a clear message to some players that they need to get their act together or they might be restricted to the bench. One of those four that were taken off at half time was Dele Alli, who couldn’t do enough to impress the boss.
Spurs will have to quickly forget this display and think of their next game on Sunday. They resume their Premier League campaign when they host Brighton. A win here will put them on the path to achieving their ultimate aspirations, finishing in the Champions League qualification slots.
Tottenham have had a particularly good start to the season, apart from some minor blips such as this one. Though it is bad to lose games, it will give the manager and the squad a chance to reflect on their weaknesses. They will know where they can improve and what needs to be done in order to do so.
Spurs have enough quality to get the job done against Brighton and they can do so if they put in a better performance than what we saw on Thursday.