Jose Mourinho has blamed Dele Alli for the goal Tottenham conceded during the Carabao Cup quarter-finals against Stoke City on Wednesday. The Portuguese tactician said the 24-year-old English attacking midfielder caused “problems” for his teammates during the match.
Since the commencement of this season, Dele Alli has found it so difficult to convince Jose Mourinho that he is good enough for the coach’s current set-up at Tottenham Hotspur. Mourinho has managed to use him 4 times in the league this season and just once in the Carabao Cup.
The only appearance Dele Alli made in the Carabao Cup came yesterday, December 23, against Stoke. In the second half of the match, Dele Alli attempted a fancy pass which didn’t end well.
Stoke City players took advantage of the mistake and set up a counter-attack which Stoke’s midfielder Jordan Andrew Thompson scored in the 53rd minute to cancel Gareth Bale’s 22nd-minute goal.
From that point, Tottenham Hotspur had to fight back until Ben Davies gave Tottenham the lead again in the 70th minute, and then Harry Kane made it three for Tottenham in the 81st minute.
Minutes after Dele Alli’s mistake led to Stoke City equalizer, Jose Mourinho substituted him which is a bad sign that the attacking midfielder could spend more time on the bench.
Mourinho said: “Yes, for me a player that plays in that position is a player that has to link and create and not to create problems for his team.
“In that situation, an objective counter-attack would probably end with a goal, and it ended with a counter-attack behind our defenders.
“We were unbalanced because when you are in possession you have full-backs out wide and another midfielder in a different line and they caught us in a counter-attack and they transformed the result of the game that was totally in our hands, so yes I am upset.”
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— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 24, 2020
Carabao Cup (EFL Cup) is Tottenham Hotspur surest title
After Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over Stoke City, Jose Mourinho admitted that the Carabao Cup is Tottenham’s surest title for the 2020-2021 season.
Tottenham have failed to win a major title for decades and Jose Mourinho is seen as the coach who could make that happen at the club. The Portuguese tactician has a history of always winning a title at every club he gets to and he might continue with that by winning the Carabao Cup for Tottenham this season.
“To win this trophy we need to win two matches. But they are two very difficult matches,” Mourinho said.
“To win other trophies you need to win more matches. The FA Cup didn’t start for us. In the Europa League, we are in the last 32.
“We are really far from getting there. In the Premier League, I told you already what we are. But they are a very difficult two matches. If you win the first one you have to win the second.
“The teams that are going to be there are very difficult. Man City are very difficult. Brentford, for me, the way they play they are not Championship, they are Premier League.
“And Everton or Manchester United are one of the very top teams. But we are in the semi-finals and we will be there to fight.”
