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The Tottenham manager said his reserve players were unable to defend more playing time in Belgium on Thursday.
José Mourinho says that Tottenham players made their future team selections “very easy” after fighting in a loss to Antwerp.
Spurs were defeated by the Belgian team on Wednesday, and the second match of the group stage of the Europa League Premier League ended in a surprise 1-0 loss.
Mourinho deployed a packed lineup of reserves, with the free-scoring duo of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son out of the day’s starting eleven.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Toby Alderweireld, Moussa Sissoko, Lucas Moura and Matt Doherty were also out after playing against Burnley last weekend.
Mourinho turned to the summer signings of Carlos Vinicius and Gareth Bale along with winger Steven Bergwijn in attack, while Dele Alli also entered midfield alongside Harry Winks and Giovani Lo Celso.
After the rotation, the Spurs struggled and failed to win Thursday’s clash in Belgium despite entering as favorites.
And Mourinho said there will be consequences for those who did not live up to their expectations, stating that the Spurs players “let them win” with their performances.
“You know who our best team is. I always like to think that the players deserve a chance. We have a great squad,” he said at his post-match press conference.
“It is also your opportunity to seize the opportunity with both hands and ask for more. Tonight my future choices will be very easy.
“They got into a situation where we let them win. I don’t want to take credit from them.”
Mourinho also took to social media to express his frustration, posting from the team bus after the game: “Bad performances deserve bad results. I hope everyone on this bus is as upset as I am. Training tomorrow at 11am.”
On Thursday, Alli returned to the squad, having been excluded from all but two of the Premier League matches so far.
There, however, he has been involved in the Europa League, with Thursday being his fourth appearance of the season.
Like several Spurs players, Alli struggled and was one of four players substituted at halftime.
“I don’t want to analyze individually,” Mourinho said. “It’s fair to say that players with bad performances influence the team, but also a team influences individual performances.
“It is not my place to individualize and bring some names to the table.”
Following Thursday’s loss, Spurs will look to bounce back on Sunday when Mourinho’s side host Brighton before traveling to face Ludogorets in the Europa League next week.
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