Jose Mourinho must feel like he’s stuck in an infinite loop of comical goals conceded after watching his Tottenham Hotspur side commit the “same mistakes” and cost itself invaluable points “match after match,” the latest of which occurred in a 2-2 draw with last-place Norwich City on Saturday.
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Following the disappointing draw at Carrow Road, Mourinho lamented the “two very bad goals” his side conceded either side of halftime and sounded like a manager who doesn’t totally understand why those mistakes keep happening — quotes from the BBC:“I think the same defensive mistakes we made in the first half, we made in the second half. This is being a little bit of our history. We started very, very well and had three or four big chances at the beginning of the first half and conceded two very bad goals. Our defensive mistakes are match after match.
“I have lots of work to do, but it has been difficult because I always say you have to try and hide your fragilities. We have to improve defensively because there are too many individual mistakes. That’s very frustrating because we play well and cannot be more offensive than we were in the second half. Norwich defended with their souls and their lives.”
Since Mourinho, who is widely considered a defensive mastermind, took over as Tottenham manager (10 games - all competitions), the side has kept just one clean sheet and conceded an average of 1.7 goals per game; they have held opponents to zero goals or one goal in just three of the 10 games.
🗣️ Jose: "It is very frustrating for us to create so much and to concede with so little." #THFC ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/LXKiFWeciz
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 28, 2019
Despite those putrid numbers, Spurs only trail fourth-place Chelsea, who have a game in hand to be played on Sunday, by two points. The race for Champions League qualification is going to be very interesting if no one, Spurs included, gets their act together and shows they really want it.