Evening Standard

FA Cup classic shows why Jose Mourinho does not throw Tottenham shackles off more often

Evening Standard logo Evening Standard 11/02/2021 00:18:31 James Robson

Who says Jose Mourinho does not do excitement? Who says he does not do end-to-end or thrills?

This FA Cup fifth round tie will live long in the memory as an absolute roller-coaster, white-knuckle ride that had you on the edge of your seat from first minute to last.

It may also be final confirmation for the Tottenham manager - if he really needed it - that safety first is always the wisest policy.

A 5-4 defeat to Everton, which was a conservative score-line on the balance of chances created, is what happens when he takes the brakes off.

It must have been pure agony for Mourinho on the side-lines at Goodison as he kicked every ball, chased down every loose pass and lived every minute of a chaotic cup classic.

It will have been torture for Carlo Ancelotti, too. No manager enjoys watching the kind of calamitous defending that both teams were guilty of, but at least he has a quarter-final to look forward at the end of it. Considering Everton's 3-3 draw at Manchester United last weekend, the Italian may be more accustomed to nights like this.

Not Mourinho though, who savours the art of defending like no other.

In that sense, this was a game that will prove to him the folly of trusting his players to go with their attacking instincts. If this is what happens when the they are released from their so-called shackles, don't expect it to happen again any time soon. Play like this against Manchester City on Saturday and it could be a cricket score.

What it did prove is Spurs' significant threat as an attacking prospect. They were ahead inside four minutes through Davinson Sanchez, with Erik Lamela already having forced an outstanding save from Robin Olsen moments after kick-off.

a group of football players on a field: Getty Images © Provided by Evening StandardGetty Images

What followed was end-to-end football, which could well have seen Spurs extend their lead - but also saw Everton repeatedly coming close to finding an equaliser, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin hitting the post.

In little over 30 minutes of football, the visitors had hit the target on six occasions with some of their most fluid attacking football in recent memory. But the game was turned on its head in the space of seven minutes when Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson - from the penalty spot - all struck to put Everton 3-1 ahead.

Lamela gave Spurs a lifeline when pulling one back in first half stoppage time - and Sanchez scored for a second time after the break to level it.

There was still time for more drama with Richarlison putting Everton 4-3 up before substitute Harry Kane sent the game into extra time.

But Bernard's 97th-minute volley after the outstanding Sigurdsson's chipped pass proved the final moment of drama.

a baseball player holding a football ball on a field: Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I © Provided by Evening StandardTottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I

Mourinho and Ancelotti embraced on the final whistle of a game that will have been emotionally exhausting for both.

It may be a long time before we see Mourinho take charge of another match like this - if ever.

Gylfi haunts Spurs

It's on nights like this that Sigurdsson reminds us all of his rare talents. Reminds us why Spurs thought he could be a White Hart Lane legend.

His vision, touch and ability to open up defences can be wonderful to behold when everything comes together. And this was a night when it did.

His through-ball to Calvert-Lewin levelled the scores at 1-1 - and his pass to the striker shortly after was sufficient to prompt Pierre-Emile Hojberg into a clumsy foul for a penalty, which Sigurdsson duly converted.

But it was his dinked chip to open up the Spurs defence for Bernard to volley home in extra-time that was his crowning act.

If only Spurs could have seen more of that from him during his time there.

Where now for Bale?

Mourinho's pre-match explanation for Gareth Bale's absence did not bode well.

"Gareth is not on the bench because he wasn't happy with his training session yesterday," said the Spurs manager. "I wouldn't say an injury, not at all, but some feelings he wasn't happy with, so it was better for him to stay back and to be working with the sports science guys."

Mourinho will have known exactly what he was doing - and known that it was the type of comment that prompts more questions than answers.

It also throws Bale squarely in the spotlight - intimating that his absence was on him.

The Welshman's fairy-tale return to Spurs is looking anything but

jeudi 11 février 2021 02:18:31 Categories: Evening Standard

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