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José Mourinho (Getty Images)
Jose Mourinho He accused Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli of creating “trouble” for his own team during a 3-1 League Cup quarter-final victory against Stoke on Wednesday.
Wales striker Gareth Bale took advantage of an unusual start to put Mourinho’s team ahead at Bet365 Stadium.
But Alli was to blame when his extravagant move was intercepted in preparation for Jordan Thompson’s draw for Stoke.
Alli’s latest mistake prompted an angry response from Mourinho’s side, who rebuked the star before replacing him minutes later.
Ben Davies put Tottenham in front with his first goal since 2017 before England captain Harry Kane sealed his spot in the semi-finals.
It was Alli’s public reprimand that drew attention, with the England international’s miserable season hitting a new low in his first start since Nov. 26.
Already exiled for long periods this term by Mourinho and linked to a transfer in January to Paris Saint-Germain, Alli is a shadow of the player who shone during England’s run to the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup.
Mourinho made it clear that the 24-year-old had to take the blame for his latest mistake.
“Yes, for me a player who plays in that position is a player who has to link and create and not create problems for his own team,” said Mourinho.
“In that situation, an objective counter would probably end with a goal, and it ended with a counter behind our defenders.
“We were unbalanced because when you are in possession you have wide wings and another midfielder in a different line and they caught us on a counterattack and transformed the result of the match that was totally in our hands, so yes I’m upset.”
Tottenham are winless in their last three Premier League games, including successive defeats against Liverpool and Leicester that took their toll on their title challenge.
But Mourinho, a four-time League Cup winner with Chelsea and Manchester United, galvanized his players to avoid a surprise at the Potteries.
Tottenham’s most recent trophies came in the League Cup in 2008 and they continue to seek to end that drought after joining Manchester City and Brentford in the last four.
“To win this trophy we need to win two games. But they are two very difficult games,” Mourinho said.
“The teams that are going to be there are very difficult teams. Manchester City is very difficult. Brentford, for me, the way they play is not a championship, it is the Premier League.
“But we are in the semifinals and we will be there to fight.”
In the 22nd minute, a swinging cross from Harry Winks caught Bale in the Stoke area and guided a precise header that passed Andy Lonergan in the far corner.
It was Bale’s third goal since returning to his former club on loan from Real Madrid in September.
Stoke equalized with his first shot on goal in the 53rd minute when a low cross from Jacob Brown found Thompson and edged out Hugo Lloris.
Davies put Tottenham back in front in the 71st minute, when the left-back’s 25-yard shot beat Lonergan down the post.
Kane put the result out of the question in the 81st minute when he ran for Moussa Sissoko’s pass and launched a typically predatory shot to the roof of the net for his 16th goal of the season.
In the other quarterfinals on Wednesday, Everton host Manchester United.
United hope to take another step towards the first silver medal of the reign of boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Everton haven’t won a major trophy since the 1995 FA Cup, but they are flying high in fourth place in the Premier League.
Manchester City, who have won the League Cup for the past three seasons, thrashed Arsenal 4-1 on Tuesday, while second-tier Brentford reached their first major cup semi-final with a surprising win by 1-0 against Newcastle.
