The Citizen (KZN)

Eriksen’s strike has Mourinho in a lather

- London

– Jose Mourinho was left lamenting a “ridiculous goal” after one of the quickest strikes in Premier League history sent his Manchester United side on the way to a damaging 2-0 defeat by Tottenham at Wembley on Wednesday.

Christian Eriksen (right) fired Spurs into the lead after just 11 seconds before an own-goal from United defender Phil Jones secured victory for the home side before the break.

Defeat left United second in the table but a huge 15 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City.

In the Premier League era, Eriksen’s express finish is tied for second-quickest with a Mark Viduka effort for Leeds against Charlton in 2001.

Only Ledley King’s 10-second goal for Tottenham against Bradford in 2000 and Alan Shearer’s after the same time for Newcastle against Manchester City in 2003 are ahead of Eriksen and Viduka.

“It’s a performanc­e that starts with a ridiculous goal. That goal after a few seconds has a big influence in the game because Tottenham could play the way they like to play,” United manager Mourinho told the BBC.

“The first goal is an accumulati­on of mistakes in spite of the fact that everything happened so fast. My players have watched the kickoff many, many times,” the Portuguese boss added.

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said: “We always try to be aggressive from the beginning.” –

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