Mourinho backs Spurs players after Dier loses his cool
london — Manchester City won a 20th consecutive domestic cup tie to move into the quarterfinals of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday as Tottenham crashed out on penalties to Norwich on Wednesday.
A bad night for Tottenham, who have now lost their last four games in all competitions, was compounded when midfielder Eric Dier climbed into the stands to confront supporters who had allegedly insulted members of his family.
“I think Eric did what we as professionals cannot do but when someone insults you and your family is involved, especially your younger brother,” said Spurs boss
Jose Mourinho. “This person insulted Eric, the younger brother was not happy with the situation and Eric was not happy. But we as professionals cannot do what he did.”
Mourinho again blamed the absence of key personnel such as
Harry Kane and Son Heung-min to injury for defeat.
“Some of my players were really in trouble and they made an incredible effort to try,” said Mourinho. “I don’t have one single negative feeling towards my players. I can cope with negative moments in football, but I feel really sorry for my players.”
Sergio Aguero scored the only goal for the holders Man City eight minutes into the second half as Wednesday goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith failed to get a strong enough hand to the Argentine’s low strike. City maintained hopes of a cup treble after lifting a third consecutive League Cup on Sunday.