Nature calls loudly to Dier
An urgent trip to the bathroom for Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier led to the surreal sight of the defender running off the pitch during Tuesday’s League Cup match against Chelsea — with coach Jose Mourinho chasing down the tunnel after him.
Spurs were trailing 1-0 with 15 minutes to go when Dier raced off the pitch and darted towards the dressing room, quickly followed by a furious Mourinho whose side were briefly down to 10 men in their fourth-round home clash.
Mourinho soon returned to his dugout and Dier swiftly made it back onto the pitch, helping Tottenham find an equaliser from Erik Lamela which made it 1-1 to force a penalty shoot-out.
Spurs went on to win 5-4 on penalties, with Dier scoring their first spot kick.
“Jose wasn’t happy but there was nothing I could do about it, nature was calling,” Dier said.
“I heard there was a chance [for Chelsea] while I was off the pitch but thankfully they didn’t score.”
Former Chelsea boss Mourinho defended his decision to race after Dier down the tunnel but praised the England international for his performance, which came two days after he played 90 minutes in the 1-1 Premier League draw with Newcastle United.
“He had to go, he had no chance,” Mourinho said of Dier’s mad dash for the bathroom.
“Maybe it is a normal thing when you are completely dehydrated, which is the case. I had to put pressure on him to get back but he is a great example for everybody.”
The win gave Dier something to celebrate after a hectic few days in which he made headlines after the ball hit his arm against Newcastle leading to the controversial penalty equaliser that denied Spurs all three points on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Mourinho has called on national team managers to protect his players during the upcoming international break, given their workload in recent weeks.
Spurs are having to play as many as three games a week as they negotiate the Europa League qualifying rounds, with Premier League and League Cup matches also in the mix.
“I hope the national team coaches have their data and they realise how many minutes Tottenham players have played this week,” Mourinho said.
“I hope they care about the players and they protect them because Tottenham players this week have an incredible amount of minutes and work, and it’s very, very dangerous.”
Spurs face Maccabi Haifa in the final qualifying round of the Europa League on Thursday before a trip to Manchester United in the league on Sunday.