Tottenham Hotspur were defeated 3-0 in the round of 16 second leg by Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb, who overturned a 2-0 lead from the first leg.
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Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho expressed his disappointment following an “unacceptable” performance from his players, after being knocked out of the UEFA Europa League. Tottenham were defeated 3-0 in the round of 16 second leg by Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb, who overturned a 2-0 lead from the first leg. “I think that our performance is unacceptable. Big hearts, big determination beat us, so if we think that big hearts are not part of football, we are wrong, because big hearts are part of football and it was what they did,” said Mourinho as quoted by the official website of Tottenham Hotspur.
An unforgettable night for Dinamo Zagreb. #UEL pic.twitter.com/Mj4lau045z
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) March 18, 2021
The Portuguese manager slammed the “attitude” of his players, terming it as a major factor behind the defeat.
“Football is not just about players who think they have more quality than others, the basics of football go beyond that. The basics of football is the attitude and they beat us on that,” he said.
Mislav Orsic was the game-changer for the Croatian champions, scoring a hat-trick. However, he also enjoyed quality assistance from goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, who denied Harry Kane and Gareth Bale with a couple of fine saves.
What it means for Dinamo Zagreb! #UEL pic.twitter.com/UYe7aiJ7vA
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) March 18, 2021
Mourinho hailed the performance of the Croatian side, stating that only one team left everything on the pitch.
“If I forget the last 10 minutes of extra time, where we did something to get a different result and go though, in the 90 minutes and in the first half of extra time there was one team that decided to leave everything on the pitch, they left everything there, sweat, energy, blood,” said the Portuguese who lavished praise.
“At the end of the game, they left tears of happiness, very humble, very committed and I have to praise them,” he added.
Tottenham will next take on Aston Villa in the Premier League, with a win of great importance considering the intense competition for a European spot finish.
Zagreb on the other hand will take on third-placed HNK Gorica who trail the league leaders by nine points, having played one more game.
