Tottenham Hotspur produced a spirited second-half display to draw 1-1 with Burnley at the weekend, but the two points dropped saw Spurs slip to eighth in the Premier League table. The result left Jose Mourinho’s side without a win in their last five games in all competitions, creating a gloomy environment which surrounded the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Portuguese boss has made a point of reminding everyone he is without his two injured top scorers this season, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. Still, another of his infamous rants proved to be the catalyst for the comeback, according to goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris.
What did he say?
Speaking to The Telegraph after the match the France international said: “All the players were angry with the performance. I don’t know what’s going to happen between now and the end of the season, but we have to keep faith.”
Lloris added: “But it’s very difficult in England because grounds like this are difficult to come to. We made a plan, but when we conceded that first goal we knew we had to react. That’s what the gaffer tried to do at halftime, and it worked well.”
Mourinho’s motivation not quite enough
The presumably harsh words Mourinho had for his side when they were trailing 1-0 at halftime may have sparked his team back into life, but Spurs were well short of a win on this occasion. Dele Alli drew the visitors level from the penalty spot, but Burnley will feel aggrieved they were not able to capitalise on yet another poor Tottenham Hotspur performance.
Of their 13 efforts at goal, just two of Spurs’ strikes troubled Nick Pope, while the opposition fought for every ball, winning 24 tackles, and had quadruple the visitors’ efforts on goal, eight, as per WhoScored. Mourinho’s musings may have sparked Spurs back to life, but they were still well short of what was required for a victory.
Furthermore, it is one thing for the Portuguese manager to criticise his player’s performance in the locker room, but his public condemnation of Tanguy Ndombele post game will have likely done the Frenchman’s confidence no favours after he was pulled off at halftime.
The Spurs boss truly has a conundrum on his hands with regards to how he proceeds to deal with Ndombele, but for now the Portuguese simply must continue to motivate his side to ensure their season does not fall into the realms of disarray.
