Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho was an irate figure after his side succumbed to an embarrassing Group J defeat to Royal Antwerp on Thursday, October 29 in the Europa League.
Mourinho made wholesome changes for the clash, although he did not compromise on the squad quality but his side still failed to get past the Belgian side who were heavy underdogs coming into the match.
Spurs came into the match off a spectacular form, having won three of their last four matches in the Premier League.
The likes of Gareth Bale, Dele Alli, Steven Bergwijn, Giovani lo Celso and Carlos Vinicius were all given rare starts but failed to impress as the North London side fell behind in the first half.
The quartet was replaced at half time and Mourinho blatantly claimed after the game that he “wanted to make 11 changes at half time”.
“I don’t want to analyse individuals. I don’t like to do that,” added Mourinho following his side’s first defeat since the opening weekend of the season. We have a big squad with lots of good players,” Mourinho said after the match.
Many fans believed the gaffer was specifically talking about Delle Alli, who has fallen down the pecking order at Spurs.
The Englishman’s start against Antwerp was only his third this season and in all occasions, he has eventually been subbed off.
Mourinho went on to claim he was going to “have an easy decision in future” when it came to squad selection, presumably because he now knew players who had a fighting spirit.
Gareth Bale also had an underwhelming performance and was replaced by Harry Kane, who also failed to get into the game by the time he came on.
It marked a disappointing end to October for Spurs, who aside from the defeat, were in superb form, having won four and drawn one in the month.
Read Also: Europa League: Match Updates, Team News As Royal Antwerp Host Tottenham
Mourinho, through his social media, also made his feelings known as he shared a photo of himself travelling back with the caption, “Bad perfomances deserve bad results. Hope everyone in this bus is as upset as I am. Tomorow 11 AM training.”
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