Tottenham Hotspur boss, Jose Mourinho, issued an apology to the midfielder Eric Dier following his first-half substitution during the club’s 4-2 Champions League comeback win against Olympiakos on Tuesday night.
After the match, Mourinho insisted that he did not substitute Eric because of a bad game. He simply decided to improve his team performances after losing a 0-2 in the first halftime.
“I want to say is to do publicly what I did in the dressing room which was to apologise to Eric Dyer is never easy for a player but he’s not also easy for us coaches but I did it for the team,” Mourinho said.
“The most difficult moment of the game for me was not when Olympiakos scored the first or second goal, but when I made the change in the first half. Hurt the player, but hurt myself.
“Not easy for the player, but not easy for myself. It is important the player understands and I was lucky that my choice was a very intelligent boy who has a good understanding of what the team is. It was about what the team needed, not his performance.
“I apologise to Eric, in spite of the fact he knows I did it for the team and not with the intention to hurt him. The fans understood that. In the end, the team is the most important thing. Christian gave us what we needed at that time.” Mourinho added.
Tottenham first played at home with Mourinho and by the beginning of the second-half they lost 1-2 to Olympiakos. Londoners put pressure on the guests – and they finally fought back to equalise 2-2 in the 50th minute.
But in the resultant attack, the most important thing was not done by the goal scorer, but by a ball boy assist. When the ball rolled over the sideline, the ball boy immediately jumped up, ran to the purs defender Serge Aurier, whose throw-in found Lucas Moura. The Brazilian duly crossed for Harry Kane to tap in the equaliser.
The result left Tottenham second of Group B on 10 points, five less than Bayern Munich who joined them in the last 16 by hammering Red Star Belgrade 0-6 at Rajko Mitic Stadium.
