LONDON • Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho scolded out-of-favour midfielder Dele Alli on Wednesday for a failed flick that lost his team possession and gave Stoke an equaliser in a League Cup quarter-final the Premier League side eventually won 3-1.
"They got us in counter-attack. So yes, I was upset," Mourinho said, after handing Alli his first start since Nov 26 for the game at second-tier Stoke.
Alli missed several chances to score, before losing possession and allowing Stoke a rare counter-attack for Jordan Thompson to make the score 1-1 in a game Spurs had dominated until then.
"For me, a player who plays in that position is a player that has to link, that has to create, not cause problems for his own team," Mourinho added of Alli.
"First half we were solid. They didn't touch the ball, or have a shot, or have a corner. Instead of killing the game, we kill ourselves."
He appeared to admonish Alli as he substituted him soon after Stoke's second-half goal, with TV footage apparently showing him saying: "Your flick has cost us that goal."
Already exiled for long periods this term by Mourinho and linked with a January move to Paris Saint-Germain, Alli is a shadow of the player who shone during England's run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.
Spurs recovered with goals from Ben Davies and Harry Kane to add to Gareth Bale's opener for a comfortable passage into the semi-finals. Bale scored a header and was an influential presence, but did not return for the second half.
"It was his decision, something he felt," Mourinho said. "While he was walking to the dressing room, he told me he couldn't come for the second half... something in his calf, I think."
Mourinho was also cautious on the possibility of his first piece of silverware at Tottenham, who will face second-tier Brentford while United take on Manchester City in the other semi-final.
He said: "The teams that are going to be there are very difficult. Brentford for me, the way they play, they are not Championship, they are Premier League."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
