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José Mourinho criticized his Tottenham fringe players for not taking chances in Antwerp, saying he now has “easy options” when selecting his first team.
For Thursday’s Europa League Group J match, Mourinho made nine changes from the victory at Burnley, hoping some of his fringe players will reclaim themselves.
However, a flat screen saw Mourinho make four changes at halftime, with Dele Alli, Steven Bergwijn, Carlos Vinicius and Giovani Lo Celso all hooked in the 1-0 loss.
Dele has started just three games for the Spurs in all competitions this season and has been substituted at halftime in two of them.
When asked what he thought of Dele’s performance, Mourinho declined to highlight it, but said that the collective’s performance told its own story and that it should be obvious to viewers who their best team is.
“I don’t want to analyze individually,” he said.
Dele Alli was substituted at halftime, along with three of his teammates at Spurs.
“It’s fair to say that players with poor performances influence the team, but also one team influences individual performances. It is not up to me to individualize and bring some names to the table. You can do it yourself. You always tell me ‘why is this player is not playing, why is this player not playing, you may not ask me that for a few weeks as you have the answer.
“You know who our best team is. I always like to think that the players deserve a chance. We have a great squad with a lot of good players. It’s my responsibility to give them opportunities, but it is also their opportunity to seize the opportunity with both hands. And ask for more. Tonight shows that my future choices will be very easy. “
Gareth Bale made his first start with the club since May 2013, but still appeared to be out of shape, being replaced by Harry Kane in the 58th minute. Even the introduction of his talisman and Heung-Min Son failed to bring the Spurs to life.
Speaking of his substitutions at halftime, Mourinho said: “I would like to make 11 [changes]! I didn’t do five because I was afraid of 45 long minutes.
“There is only one person to blame, that’s me. I chose the players to start. At halftime, I tried to improve the situation but it was not enough. The dynamics of the first half were there, it was difficult to change.
“Antwerp also changed. In the first half, it was very easy to play with a lot of space between the lines to punish them, which we didn’t do. The second half we improved but they played differently, they restricted spaces. It was very difficult. In the end, Antwerp got it. he deserved. I’m calm. The best team won and the worst lost. “
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