SMASH & GRAB
Jose hurls drinks crate as he ‘enjoys’ United’s late winner
JOSE MOURINHO reacted in crazy fashion after Marouane Fellaini’s dramatic injury-time goal against Young Boys sent Manchester United through to the last 16 of the Champions League.
Mourinho kicked wildly at a tray of water bottles before picking it up and smashing it to the ground. He had earlier come under fire for his negative reaction when Marcus Rashford had missed a chance. Gary Lineker said on BT Sport: ‘If I saw that reaction from my manager after missing a chance, I’d be absolutely livid.’
Manchester City also qualified with a 2-2 draw away to Lyon.
MAURICIO Pochettino is still feeling the pain of Tottenham’s mistakes in the transfer market as he prepares for a must-win European clash with Inter Milan.
Spurs will go out of the Champions League if they fail to beat Inter at Wembley tonight and Pochettino is concerned about the lack of depth in his squad as they face 11 games in five weeks.
Injuries are taking their toll and players such as Juan Foyth, Georges-Kevin N’Koudou and Vincent Janssen are not available in Europe because they had to be omitted from the original squad list.
‘That is so painful,’ said Pochettino, when asked about Foyth’s absence. ‘It’s a mistake we made which at this level of football we cannot repeat again. We need to find solutions before the start of the season. I was disappointed from the beginning.
‘I told you we needed English players, but it was impossible and now it’s so painful to have a player out of the list. We hope that in March we can include him on the new list for the Champions League. Not only him, also N’Koudou and Janssen out of the squad.’
Tottenham have only 22 players in their UEFA ‘A-list’ squad list because they were forced to leave vacant three places reserved for homegrown players.
Young players, such as Kyle Walker-Peters and Oliver Skipp, are eligible through the ‘B-list’.
The problem might have been eased by recruiting British players such as Jack Grealish, who they tried to sign from Aston Villa. Or Ross Barkley who went on to join Chelsea.
They were linked with Ryan Sessegnon of Fulham, James Maddison, who left Norwich for Leicester, and Wilfried Zaha, who plays for Ivory Coast but is ‘associationtrained’ according to UEFA.
‘In that moment, you cannot guess what’s going to happen,’ said Pochettino. ‘But that was a position where we have Davinson Sanchez injured and Jan Vertonghen was injured.
‘That was why we used Juan and I am happy with him, and with his evolution. He has showed great quality. But I am so disappointed he cannot come with us in the Champions League.
‘It’s in club hands. It’s not in my hands only. We share the responsibility. If not, it looks like the bad things are the gaffer’s and the good things we (all) share.’
Foyth started in central defence against Chelsea on Saturday despite Vertonghen’s return to fitness after two months out with a hamstring injury.
Pochettino might have preferred to consider the Belgian’s experience and physical presence in the London derby and 20-year-old Foyth’s mobility against an Inter attack led by Mauro Icardi.
Or he might not have. His point was that he has been denied the luxury of the option.
Foyth cannot play against Inter and Eric Dier, another option at centre half, has been deployed in midfield because Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele are injured.
‘We will rotate players to mix them in the best way,’ said Pochettino.
Confidence is high, nevertheless, after five straight wins culminating in the best performance for weeks against Chelsea.
‘I was pleased because it was a very good victory,’ added the Spurs boss. ‘But the most important thing is to keep humble.
‘After the win at Old Trafford [in August] I remember a lot of players talking about winning titles. It was only three points, like any other game. ‘If you have only talent and not the right attitude you can maybe win some games but trophies are impossible.’
Spurs may have to follow victory against Inter with another in Barcelona in the final group game.
‘When people say something is going to be difficult, I am excited to show them it’s possible,’ said Pochettino. ‘For us, it’s a massive motivation.’