THE BEST TEAM LOST, SAYS MOURINHO
Jose admits Tottenham were under-par after sneaking win over Southampton
JOSE Mourinho conceded the “best team lost” before saying managing Tottenham Hotspur is like playing chess without all the pieces in a nod to his growing injury list.
But Ralph Hasenhuttl delivered better news on Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, confirming his injury was not as horrific as first feared as he suffered only a cut to his leg.
Ward-Prowse was carried off on a stretcher after colliding with Ryan Sessegnon. Yet Hasenhuttl reported the 25-year-old will not be out in the long term.
“I’m happy that it’s not that bad,' said the Austrian, whose side largely dominated this tie.
“It’s good that he has only a cut. That is what I was worried the most about.”
Mourinho embraced Hasenhuttl at full-time and told his counterpart that the “best team lost”.
Mourinho's side were 12 minutes away from being knocked out after squandering the firsthalf lead given to them by Jack Stephens’ own goal.
Shane Long and Danny Ings scored as Southampton hit back to take the lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
But Lucas Moura equalised before Son won and converted the decisive penalty with just two minutes left.
Tottenham scored with all three of their shots on target, including a soft penalty.
Speaking afterwards, the Portuguese added: “I have to be honest. The best team lost.
“If you look at it in a pragmatic way of forgetting that they had their best player, their best team, they had one more day to rest, we were really in trouble to build the team.
“Lots of fatigue from the (Manchester) City match. If you analyse in a simple, pragmatic way, the best team lost. They were better than us.
“But I cannot forget all the other circumstances and my players, they were phenomenal.
“I had to manage this chess game without pieces. No bishops, no kings, no queens. Very, very hard with so many injuries and problems. No (Steven) Bergwijn. It was very difficult.”
Among Tottenham’s other sidelined stars include Harry Kane, Moussa Sissoko and Erik Lamela. Mourinho also said Dele Alli had to play despite not being fully fit.
On Mourinho’s kind words, Hasenhuttl responded: “This is nice but it does not help me.”
Meanwhile, Christian Eriksen aimed a dig at his former employers ahead of Wednesday night’s clash, saying he left Tottenham to win trophies after sixand-a-half years without silverware. Eriksen secured a £17million (RM91 million) move to Inter Milan in January after declining a contract extension.
Tottenham hired Mourinho to guide them to their first trophy since 2008.
But in an interview with Sky in Italy, Eriksen said: “There’s a big chance of winning a trophy here, or a bigger chance than where I was, of course.”