José Mourinho maintains an almost obsessive relationship with numbers. The evocation of its number of titles made its legend in England, and the “Special One” does not hesitate to scrape with the observers to recall its achievements. This Sunday, after a new defeat against West Ham (2-1) which places his team nine points behind his opponent of the day and the top 4, the Portuguese technician must face the facts: the accounts are not good.
Premier League leader at the start of the season and winner of both Manchester and Arsenal in the first part of the season, Tottenham is no longer moving forward and now has five defeats in the last six league meetings. With this negative spiral, Tottenham, which admittedly has a game late, tumbles to ninth place in the standings. Picked up at the start of the two periods (5th, 47th), Hugo Lloris’ teammates revolted during the second act, first by the former Parisian Lucas (64th), before Son, who came to counter a defender , does not find the amount at the very end of the game.
Worst points total leading a team
“They have the points, we have the sadness and the frustration. I liked how the team played, especially in the second half, analyzed the 58-year-old coach after the game at the club channel microphone. There is no doubt that the team wanted to win, no doubt that they fought for a different result. I think we deserved another result. “
As in the first leg, where they had conceded the equalizer at the very end of the match (3-3), additional time did not smile on Arsenal’s rivals. Worse, since their victory against Leeds on January 2, Londoners have conceded at least one goal per game in the Premier League. Their defense is also porous in the national cup, with a point to five goals conceded in the 5th round of the FA Cup in Everton. This new defeat places José Mourinho in an unprecedented statistical situation: after 50 league games with Spurs, he has only 81 points. This is his worst points total leading a team since he started his coaching career.
But the Lusitanian brushed aside the idea of a crisis at a press conference. “When a team fights like we did until the last second to get another result, it’s never a group crisis. Because group crises are when you don’t go in the same direction to seek better results. So I wouldn’t say crisis, but I would just say a bad run of results. We lose too many matches. “
Before this weekend, Mourinho, rather a follower of sharp statements, used the Coué method to reassure everyone. “It is still very premature to talk about the standings. Teams have late games. We have already played our two games against Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City […]. Everything can happen. “
The Cup or nothing against City
The only reason for satisfaction for the fans: the cuts. After their large victory at Wolfsberger in the round of 16 first leg of the Europa League (4-1), Tottenham is almost guaranteed to continue their European campaign. Arrived during last season to replace Mauricio Pocchetino and author of a “comeback” in the standings (14th to 6th), “The Experienced One” as he now calls himself is only one match away from a title. He took his family to the League Cup final on April 25 against Manchester City. A golden opportunity to open his record with the Spurs, and, once again, to turn the figures in his favor.
Article original de: www.leparisien.fr
