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LONDON (Reuters) – An urgent trip to the bathroom by Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier triggered the surreal vision of the defender leaving the pitch during Tuesday’s League Cup game against Chelsea, with coach José Mourinho chasing him down the tunnel. .
The Spurs were trailing 1-0 with 15 minutes to go when Dier ran off the court and into the locker room, quickly followed by a furious Mourinho whose team briefly fell to 10 men in their fourth-round clash at home.
Mourinho soon returned to his bench and Dier quickly returned to the field, helping Tottenham find Erik Lamela’s 1-1 draw to force a penalty shoot-out.
The Spurs won 5-4 on penalties, with Dier scoring his first penalty.
“José was not happy, but I couldn’t do anything about it, nature was calling me,” Dier explained.
“I heard there was an opportunity (for Chelsea) while they were off the pitch, but luckily they didn’t score.”
Former Chelsea manager Mourinho defended his decision to run after Dier down the tunnel, but praised the English international for his performance, which came two days after he played 90 minutes in the 1-1 Premier League draw. with Newcastle United.
“He had to go, he had no chance,” Mourinho said of Dier’s mad dash to the bathroom.
“Maybe it’s normal when you’re completely dehydrated, which is the case, I had to push him to come back, but he’s a great example for everyone.”
The victory gave Dier something to celebrate after a hectic few days in which he made headlines after the ball hit his arm against Newcastle, leading to the controversial penalty draw that denied Spurs all three points on Sunday.
(Reporting by Richard Martin; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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