Jose Mourinho rues Tottenham’s poor performance after Serge Aurier’s moment of madness gifted Leicester a first-half penalty before Toby Alderweireld’s comical own goal wrapped up the win for Brendan Rodgers’ side… who have leapfrogged Spurs into second
- Jose Mourinho was furious with his side’s display after they slipped up at home
- Leicester broke the deadlock after Serge Aurier had barged over Wesley Fofana
- James Maddison had a goal disallowed before Toby Alderweireld’s own goal
- Brendan Rodgers’ side are now second and four points behind leaders Liverpool
Jose Mourinho lamented his side’s poor display as Tottenham squandered the chance to move back second in the Premier League after a calamity of errors saw them lose 2-0 at home to Leicester.
A first-half penalty from Jamie Vardy put the visitors in front after Serge Aurier had inexplicably barged Wesley Fofana in the back, before a superb James Maddison strike after the break was ruled out by VAR, which measured the England international’s armpit to determine that he was offside.
However, Brendan Rodgers’ men shrugged off that disappointment and wrapped up the win in comical circumstances when Jamie Vardy’s close-range header cannoned off Toby Alderweireld and wrong-footed an exasperated Hugo Lloris.
Jose Mourinho’s side missed the chance to go second as Spurs had just three shots on target
Serge Aurier’s challenge on Wesley Fofana gifted Leicester a penalty just before the break
It was still a game in which the hosts enjoyed 56% possession and Son Heung-min could have halved the deficit with around 20 minutes to play when his cushioned effort was brilliantly clawed away by Kasper Schmeichel.
Reflecting on the game, Mourinho said: ‘I’m frustrated, but I think it’s a strange game to describe.
‘It’s a game where we lose with a penalty and an own goal. It’s a game where your goalkeeper doesn’t make one single save, but at the same time we didn’t play very well.
‘We didn’t start well at all but then in our best period in the first half is when we conceded and in the second half an own goal.
‘In spite of that, the team tried and created chances. I don’t think it was a game that both teams played very, very well.’
Arguably the game’s key turning point came just before the break when Aurier lost his head and charged into Fofana.
James Maddison’s firmly struck shot was disallowed by VAR after a marginal offside decision
‘We had the best chances in the first half before the penalty and they scored when it’s not even a dangerous situation,’ Mourinho continued.
‘He was running away from our goal and in games between teams of a similar level, this is the difference. I’m not going to crucify my player.
‘I assess that we deserved to win the game at Liverpool and it would have made the week an amazing week because we’d have done something nobody has done in a long time (winning in the league at Anfield). The team was phenomenal against Liverpool.’
Hugo Lloris was wrong-footed after Jamie Vardy’s header cannoned in off Toby Alderweireld
Brendan Rodgers’ side are now second in the table and face Manchester United on Boxing Day
The Foxes have now leapfrogged Tottenham into second and move four points between league leaders Liverpool.
Mourinho’s men must now lick their wounds before a Carabao Cup trip to Championship side Stoke City on Wednesday.
They then return to league action when they travel to Wolves on December 27 before home games against bottom-half sides Fulham and Leeds on December 30 and January 2 respectively.