Europa League: Tottenham’s unbeaten run ends in thrilling 2-3 loss to Galatasaray
Tottenham Hotspur’s flawless start in the Europa League came to an end on Thursday, as they fell 3-2 to a resilient Galatasaray side.
Accepting the yellow card for his strange behaviour in Wednesday’s Premier League match against Southampton, Spurs manager Jose Mourinho purportedly said Southampton goalkeeping coach Andrew Sparkes “an idiot”. However, Mourinho accepted the penalty saying that his behaviour was rude.
Notably, referee Mike Dean booked the Portuguese coach for approaching the rival bench. In the 77th minute, Mourinho went to Southampton’s dugout to have a look at what his opposite number was up to and this fetched the coach a yellow card.
“I think the yellow card is fair because I was rude. But I was rude to an idiot and for some reason,” Mourinho told The Guardian.
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“I deserved the yellow card,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mourinho also complained that Tottenham should have been awarded a penalty for a foul on Dele Alli, also chastising the controversial VAR.
On New Year’s day, Southampton stunned Tottenham 1-0 at the St Mary’s Stadium to register their third win in the last four games. Danny Ings’ 17th-minute strike was the only difference between the teams.
The Spurs, who had a great chance to overtake Manchester United and climb to the fifth position, now find themselves stuck at sixth with 30 points, courtesy the defeat. The Saints, on the other hand, have risen to the 12th spot with 25 points.
The hosts started the game as the better team and frustrated the Jose Mourinho-led side during the initial minutes before taking the lead in the 17th. A volley from Ings into the bottom right-hand corner of the net was enough to beat Tottenham goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
The rest of the half saw Mourinho’s men pressing hard in search of an equaliser. But a determined defensive unit from the home team made sure their net was not disturbed till the end of the match as the side walked into the tunnel with the scoreline of 1-0.
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