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“At the end of the day, I would be very happy if Mourinho was very dissatisfied, because then we would have prepared a difficult night for them,” LASK coach Dominik Thalhammer said on Wednesday before the Europa League game against Tottenham Hotspur.
Following Linz’s 3: 3 draw (match report >>>), which temporarily pitted the leaders of the English Premier League against the wall, LASK failed to keep the knockout phase chances alive, instead the Portuguese star coach of Londoners was duly cared for.
“We didn’t play well. We didn’t deserve to win, they were better than us,” said the 57-year-old, summarizing Spurs’ performance in front of the UEFA microphone after the match.
“They were more excited than us and deserved the last minute goal and the draw. If they had lost the game they would have left with a bad feeling because they gave their all, they played with enthusiasm, they played with intensity. “
At the post-match press conference, the Portuguese joins the same horn. “The result is better than the performance. The second half was better than the first,” said Mourinho, who described the performance of the Spurs in the first half of the game in a friendly way. In the first half, the Londoners only fired a shot on goal by LASK goalkeeper Schlager, that is, the penalty converted by Gareth Bale.
Linz, on the other hand, played freely and made the Premier League club look so poor that the most striking thing about Spurs was the orange-yellow game outfit.
The question of motivation
Mourinho handled his team critically, confirming that they were unmotivated in the group stage of the Europa League.
According to Mourinho, some players would believe “that they shouldn’t be here.” “Many of my players do not have the right attitude when they play in the Europa League. They are used to playing in the Champions League, they think it will be easy. But it is not. I also told them at half time,” Mourinho said into the microphone pulse-4.
The two-time Champions League champion wants to have acknowledged before the game that his Spurs would have trouble with the rebellious Linzers. “I had a premonition when I warmed up before the game. I told the games before the game that there was a big difference in intensity, communication and enthusiasm between their warm-up and ours,” Mourinho said after the game. The comparison of the warm-up phases of the two teams had already seen enough: “Nothing surprised me.”
Pierre-Emil Höjbjerg, 57, and Heung-min Son, who scored 2-1 for the Londoners, are to be commended. “It is the players who bring balance to the team. Without them, I think we would not have a positive result today.”
The final score tastes like Spurs
After all, the result is correct from Tottenham’s point of view. Due to the 3: 3 draw against LASK, the current Premier League leaders are in the middle round of the Europa League.
“The only positive I can get from the game is the result and that we are further away and that we have the opportunity to be the first if we beat Antwerp,” Mourinho looks to the future.
Spurs lost the away game in Belgium on matchday two with 0: 1, the difference with the current leaders of Group J is only two points.
Mourinho attaches great importance to winning the group. Playing at home at Tottenham Stadium without any pressure knowing that qualifications have been made will ease the situation next week. “I think we should win and we will win the match,” said the Portuguese confidently.
Home Sweet Home
Home advantage seems to be almost essential for Spurs in the Europa League. Against Antwerp, Tottenham should appear again as in home games before.
“We have to play at home. In all the home games, against Maccabi (Haifa, note) in the playoffs, Ludogorets, LASK, our team is like a different team,” which brings Mourinho back to the question of motivation .
“I think it is a question of attitude that I have seen before. Even at Manchester United I had the same situation. In the group stage we lost two away games. When we are in the knockout phase, and better opponents and greater difficulties we face the matches of another way “.
This will be very necessary against Antwerp and in the course of the Europa League. That the Belgians can surprise Tottenham, the team of Antwerp coach Ivan Leko already showed it in the first match. One point would suffice for Belgium’s oldest club to win the group, a point that Tottenham had to fight hard against LASK.
Text as: © LAOLA1.at
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