Football: Spurs 'too nice' laments Mourinho as Wolves beat Londoners 3-2 to move into sixth

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho (centre) reacts during the English Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers, on March 1, 2020. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

LONDON (REUTERS) - Frustrated Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has called on his team to show more fighting spirit after Wolverhampton Wanderers twice came back from a goal down to beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 and leapfrog the Londoners into sixth place in the Premier League table on Sunday (March 1).

"I think it's unfair, the result, totally unfair," Mourinho said, before urging his team to be more aggressive. "We don't have that aggression. We are too good, too nice. That was maybe the only difference between the teams."

Steven Bergwijn gave Spurs, who lost 2-1 to Chelsea last week, the lead in the 13th minute by slamming home a rebound to spare the blushes of Dele Ali, whose weak shot with the goal at his mercy was parried by Rui Patricio.

The visitors struck back 14 minutes later through Irish international Matt Doherty, who took advantage of some poor defending to score after Spurs failed to clear Ruben Vinagre's cross.

Serge Aurier restored the lead just before half-time, collecting the ball just inside the box before curling a sublime left-foot shot inside the far post, but again Wolves came back as Diogo Jota scored from close range in the 57th minute.

With Spurs striker Ali spurning several decent chances, Jota then set up Jimenez for the winner, sliding the ball into his path in the 73rd minute for Jimenez to cut swiftly inside before curling a sweet left-footed strike into the net.

The win lifts Wolves into sixth spot with 42 points after 28 games, just behind Manchester United on goal difference, while Spurs slip to seventh, two points behind Wolves.

With Manchester City set to be banned from the Champions League for breaching Uefa's financial rules, Wolves striker Jimenez said he and his team mates were setting their sights on a spot in Europe's premier club competition.

"This is our spirit, it's what characterises us. We fight to the end in every game, keep going and keep winning. We're proud of this game and we have to keep going to achieve more goals, we are looking at top five" he said.

For Mourinho, the defeat makes the task of qualifying for the Champions League that little bit more difficult but he did not see his side as being second-best against Wolves.

"They are so powerful on the counter-attack," he told a news conference. "We tried different solutions, it worked in a way because we scored two goals."

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