'Spurs show no respect for jobs'

ZAGREB • A stunned Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has accused his players of not respecting their jobs, after they crashed out of the Europa League following a 3-2 aggregate defeat by Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday.

Leading 2-0 from the first leg of the last 16 in London, Spurs were overwhelming favourites to reach the quarter-finals but produced a tepid performance as Dinamo stormed back with a sensational hat-trick by Mislav Orsic.

Coming after his side were heavily criticised for a poor performance in last Sunday's north London derby 2-1 loss at Arsenal, Mourinho suffered one of the most chastening defeats of his glittering managerial career.

While Orsic's hat-trick, completed early in extra time, was world class, Spurs' performance was feeble in the extreme and they capitulated after half-time.

"If I forget the last 10 minutes of the extra time where we did something to get a different result, in the 90 minutes and the first half of extra time I saw one team left everything on the pitch. They left sweat, they left energy, they left blood and in the end they left tears of happiness," Mourinho told BT Sport.

"On the other side, my team didn't look like it was playing an important match and, if for any of them it's not important, for me it is, for the respect that I have for my career and my own job."

It was only the third time that Mourinho had lost a match in a European competition by a three-goal margin and the second with Spurs, after last season's Champions League 3-0 loss to RB Leipzig.

He also suffered a three-goal defeat against Borussia Dortmund while at Real Madrid. But this felt far worse, with Spurs goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris calling the defeat a "disgrace".

Tottenham great Glenn Hoddle described the display as "diabolical", saying: "They lost the plot but they also lost their heart."

Mourinho also said he was beyond sad, adding: "I just left the Dinamo dressing room where I went to praise them... I feel sorry that my team didn't bring to the game not just the basics of football but the basics of life which is to respect our jobs and to give everything."

Tottenham's season is now in danger of unravelling.

• Granada v Man United

• Arsenal v Slavia Prague

• Ajax v Roma

• Dinamo Zagreb v Villarreal

They are eighth in the Premier League ahead of tomorrow's game against Aston Villa and, while they are in the League Cup final, few will fancy their chances against Manchester City.

Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his team have missed Paul Pogba, after the Frenchman helped the Red Devils reach the Europa League quarter-finals 2-1 on aggregate with the winning goal in a 1-0 victory at AC Milan.

Pogba, who had missed the previous 10 matches with a thigh injury, needed only three minutes to score after coming on after half-time.

Arsenal also reached the last eight despite suffering a 1-0 loss to Olympiakos in their last-16, second-leg match. Youssef El-Arabi's strike won the game but the Gunners advanced 3-2 on aggregate.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE