Jose Mourinho: Every word from Tottenham coach's press conference after Bayern Munich 3-1 Spurs

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Standard Sport12 December 2019

Jose Mourinho reflects on Tottenham’s 3-1 defeat at Bayern Munich , and what they can achieve in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Reporter: What did you learn, both positive and negative, about your players tonight?

Mourinho: “The negative I won't tell you. It would be unfair to speak about conclusions. No conclusions, just information and that is very important for me. Some of the players played their first minutes with me. Some of the players like Foyth was the first time he played. It was important to collect some information, information you normally collect in the season or in pre-season. I just arrived and I need information.”

“The fact that we qualified against Olympiacos gave us this possibility and the fact that we played so well in the last match and we won 5-0, we were in a positive, which allowed me to come here and risk what happened. I am happy with the decisions I made, I hope our supporters understand what I did. Internally we all agreed that was the best option for the players that are playing every minute and also the best option for the players that are not playing and for the young players that need to develop.”

“So internally we made this decision and we think it was the best decision for the team. We risked because we played against a very good team, a team that came with two defeats in a row, a team that cannot lose tonight a third match in a row, a second at home. So we knew they would come very strong, on top of that they had a bench full of top players, so if they needed in extreme situations Lewandowski to come to the game they would have him on the bench. I decided not to have even Kane or Alli on the bench.”

Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho Photo Michael Regan/Getty Images
Michael Regan/Getty Images

“Different moments for both teams and me and Flick manage our team and resources in different ways. I will prefer a better result, I would prefer even a 3-2 defeat with a Son goal in the last minute but that is what it is. But I am happy with the information I take back. I take lots of information on players that is going to influence my decisions in the future.”

Reporter: Ryan Sessegnon scored but do you feel there is even more of his game to bring out?

Mourinho: “This team is not what I call a team. What I call a team is when you prepare together, you work together, you develop principles together. This team that we played tonight is a team that is not a perfect puzzle.”

“We just tried to organise a team so that we could rest some players and give conditions for the more experienced people to perform and have some security. So Foyth, Alderweireld, Lo Celso, Sessegnon, Eriksen, Dier, we tried to build something to give them some security and give us some options to fight for a result.”

“I think in the first half they had chances to score some more goals but we were one minute away from going in to half-time at 1-1. When I played Son, I was going to bring him on at 2-1. We conceded the third at the moment Sonny [Heung-min Son] was coming on. So we tried to build something that gave us the conditions to fight for a result.

“I tried to ignore what happened in the first match. I tried to hide it from the players, I didn't show any image of that. I didn't analyse with the players anything from that match, but it was important for us to come here and get out with a result, with the minimum of dignity. My wish is that we can be back and if we can be back it has to be for the quarter or semi-final, because we cannot play them in the next round. So my wish is to be back for a proper match, for a match that we all like.”

Reporter: Do you think the group leaders will fear Tottenham by the time the Last 16 comes around?

Mourinho: “I think from the teams that finished second, I think the teams that finished first will wish they don't play against us. We are one of the strongest teams from the second group. I know we are a country that goes through a crazy period which many, many times leaves marks on players and teams and conditions, but by the end of February I will understand my players better, they will understand me better.”

“We have two more months of work together. I think so, we will be much more ready. But today was not a question of being or not being ready.”

“Today was a very difficult situation. It was play and prepare a game where you put more emphasis on the players who rest than the players who play and the result that you are fighting for. That is very difficult. I try to hide that feeling from the players but the players are intelligent guys and they understand clearly my focus was not on today. My focus was on what next.”

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