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José Mourinho insisted his players stick together, declining to answer a question about unused substitute Gareth Bale, after Tottenham’s 1-0 loss to Chelsea saw them lose more ground in the race to qualify for the Champions League on Thursday night.
Chelsea were superior from start to finish at Tottenham Hotspur, clinching victory thanks to an early penalty from Jorginho, and were only under heavy pressure near the end. Although Carlos Vinícius almost salvaged a late point for Spurs, who are seven points behind the top four, they have been lousy since Harry Kane injured his ankles against Liverpool last week.
But despite another poor performance from the Spurs, who lacked ideas without Kane up front and Sergio Reguilón’s push on the left-back, Mourinho tried to find the positives of his team’s third straight loss. Pointing out injuries, the coach suggested his players have simply lost faith after a difficult period.
“I don’t like to talk about Harry Kane and company, but they mean something to the confidence of the players,” Mourinho said. “We tried without Vinícius against Brighton. We tried it today with Vinícius and two above. We tried it in the second half with him as a goal and two wingers and a number 10. We tried to go searching, but I saw union.
“It is not easy to see the union with bad results, difficulties, injuries. The union is very easy to demonstrate when you are at the top and win games. But in difficult moments it is more difficult to see that union, but I saw it in the second half. I do not have any doubt “.
Mourinho was reluctant to explain why he kept Bale on the bench. “Good question, but you don’t deserve an answer,” he told a reporter who asked him about the omission of the end. The Portuguese offered few clues after being pressured again on Bale. “I’m doing the best that I can, he’s doing the best that he can,” Mourinho said. “Everyone is doing the best they can.
It was a good night for Chelsea, who have scored seven points in Thomas Tuchel’s first three games. The victory brought Tuchel’s team to sixth place, four points behind fourth-ranked Liverpool. The only concern was losing the influential center-back Thiago Silva to a thigh injury.
Tuchel doesn’t expect the Brazilian to show up when Chelsea visit Sheffield United on Sunday. “I saw Thiago with a big strap around his muscle, but we have to wait,” said the Chelsea manager. “It’s worrying because it’s a muscle injury.”
