Thu 28 January 2021, 23:15
Tottenham HotspurJose Mourinho pointed to the end of the first half as key to our 3-1 loss at home against Liverpool in the Premier League on Thursday evening.
We started brightly, got on the front foot and had an early goal from Heung-Min Son chalked off for offside by VAR. Sonny had another chance and in an open half, Hugo Lloris saved well from Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah.
Worringly, Harry Kane went down twice, first holding his right ankle after 12 minutes then his left ankle on 33. He was struggling as the half-time whistle approached and then a blow as Firmino tapped home from close range in added time.
We lost Harry at the break as Jose reorganised, introducing Harry Winks and Erik Lamela. Then another blow as Trent Alexander-Arnold doubled Liverpool’s lead two minutes into the second half. Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg lashed home a beauty - his first goal for Spurs - to reduce arrears just two minutes later but Jurgen Klopp’s men wrapped it up with the third from Mane on 65 minutes.
We were really good, solid and confident in the first half, so to go 1-0 down, not easy, to lose Harry Kane, not easy
Jose reflected: “I believe it was a very good, solid performance in the first half, with two mistakes, one in the first minute, one in the last minute.
“The mistake in the last minute took us to half-time at 1-0, then at half-time we lose Harry, and we come into the second half with good ambition, good determination, again, a defensive mistake brings the 2-0.
“Again, good spirit, good reaction, Pierre’s goal, I think he reflects the spirit of the team, and again, when you are dominating, when you are in the opposition half, another mistake, unfortunately this time from a boy in Joe who for me played, so, so well. Again, punished by our own mistakes.
“But everything went wrong at the end of the first half. We shouldn’t go in losing at half-time, not at all. I think we were really good, solid and confident in the first half, so to go 1-0 down, not easy, to lose Harry Kane, not easy. To come out for the second half and another defensive mistake and 2-0, it’s very difficult to resist that, even mentally. But I praise the guys who stayed on until the end because until the end, they tried.”
