Mourinho masterstroke pays off for Spurs
Man City advances to last-16 despite draw with Shakhtar • PSG produces dramatic comeback vs Real
LONDON (Reuters) – Eric Dier became the first Tottenham Hotspur player to discover Jose Mourinho’s ruthless streak as the Portuguese manager’s decision to haul off the midfielder after half an hour ultimately proved a masterstroke late Tuesday night.
Mourinho’s first home game in charge after replacing Mauricio Pochettino was turning ugly as Greek side Olympiakos Piraeus led 2-0 inside 20 minutes of the Champions League Group B game.
But twice Champions League winner Mourinho acted decisively, sacrificing Dier’s defensive shield, and sent on Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen who, just as on Saturday in Mourinho’s debut win over West Ham United, had been left on the bench.
It took a while for the tactical switch to work, but Dele Alli leveled on the stroke of halftime and the second half saw Tottenham run riot with Harry Kane scoring twice either side of a thumping effort by Serge Aurier.
Tottenham, the runner-up in June under Pochettino, has qualified for the last-16 and in Mourinho’s first two games in charge Spurs have scored seven and conceded four, perhaps confounding those who said he would bring boring soccer to north London.
While the Dier/Eriksen swap worked a treat, Mourinho said it had been the hardest part of his evening.
“The most difficult moment for me was not the goals but the change I had to make,” said the 56-year-old, whose tactical acumen has earned him silverware at every club he has managed. “It hurt the player but also hurt me. It was not easy for the player or me.
“But it’s important the player understood and I was fortunate that it was a very intelligent boy who understood it was about the team not the performance. I apologized to Eric and made it clear I didn’t do it to hurt him.
“Christian gave us what we needed at that time.”
Mourinho, sacked by Manchester United last season after his reign there turned sour, has been charm personified since swapping punditry for the Tottenham job.
Spurs’ performance rather summed up their season. They were caught cold and were lucky that a defensive howler allowed Alli to reduce the arrears before the interval.
In the second half, with Eriksen providing the ammunition for Kane, Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura, Tottenham was ruthless.
With a home game against Bournemouth this weekend, Mourinho has every chance of starting with three straight wins.
“Next game at home I expect the boys to start without ghosts, open and confident” he said.
In other action, a subdued Manchester City reached the last-16 and secured top spot in Group C despite an unconvincing 1-1 draw at home to Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk at the Etihad Stadium.
Ilkay Gundogan had fired City ahead in the 56th minute, but Shakhtar earned a potentially valuable point after Israeli substitute Manor Solomon equalized in the 69th.
Atalanta’s 2-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in the group’s other game meant that Pep Guardiola’s side is guaranteed to finish top.
City has 11 points at the summit ahead of its final group game away to Dinamo with Shakhtar in second place on six points. Dinamo has five points and Atalanta four.
Yet while the goal of qualification was secured, it was a far from impressive performance from a team which harbors ambitions of a first Champions League triumph this season.
In recent weeks the crispness and sharpness of City’s pass-and-move play has not been up to its established standard and defending remains a concern.
“The target was to qualify and we have done it,” said Guardiola who was facing Shakhtar for the 13th time in his career.
“They always have quality players. In general, we created chances, but the draw was enough in the end. Now we have one competition already done, and now our focus will be the Premier League,” he said.
City is third in the domestic league and trails leader Liverpool by nine points.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid underlined its return to top form with a spectacular display at home to Paris Saint-Germain, but still had to settle for a 2-2 draw after two late strikes secured top spot in Group A for the French side.
Real had sealed its place in the knockout stages for a record-extending 23rd successive year thanks to Club Brugge’s 1-1 draw at Galatasaray earlier, while PSG had also already qualified.
Yet with top spot on the line, as well as pride after PSG had crushed Real 3-0 back in September, both sides played with the passion, skill and commitment of a blockbuster knockout tie, serving up a thrilling game at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Karim Benzema knocked into an empty net to give Real the lead in the 17th minute of his 100th Champions League start and the French forward doubled the advantage with a 79th minute header.
Yet Kylian Mbappe reduced the deficit in the 81st minute, capitalizing on a mistake from Real ’keeper Thibaut Courtois before Pablo Sarabia equalized in the 82nd.
PSG tops Group A with 13 points from five games while Real is second on eight. Club Brugge, which Real visits in its final game next month, is third on three points, while Galatasaray, which will travel to PSG, is bottom with two.