[엑스포츠뉴스 김희웅 인턴기자] “It is difficult to win a penalty kick decision. Losing this way is painful.”
Coach Jose Mourinho expressed dissatisfaction with the referee’s decision.
Tottenham Hotspur lost 0-1 to Chelsea in the 22nd round of the English Premier League (EPL) of the 2020/21 season held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England at 5 am on the 5th.
As a result of that day, Tottenham (33 points) fell to 8th place, and Chelsea (36 points) stepped on Tottenham and jumped to 6th place.
It was an important match for both teams. In particular, Tottenham lost two straight victories to Liverpool and Brighton before the Chelsea match. It was necessary to reverse the mood, but after a helpless performance, he knelt and fell into a pit of 3 consecutive losses.
There was a decisive scene that divided the game in the 23rd minute, which was tense at 0-0. Eric Dyer threw himself from the box to cut the ball going to Timo Werner, but it didn’t reach. Dyer tackled by kicking the ball down from a fall, but kicking Werner’s leg, a penalty was declared. As a kicker, Giorginho gave Chelsea lead with a powerful shot.
In the second half, Tottenham opted for forward pressure. However, it was not effective. The first shot took 34 minutes after the start of the second half. However, Eric Lamela’s left-footed shot was blocked by Edouard Mendi. In the 42nd minute of the second half, even Carlos Vinicius’ header turned away from the goal. Other than that, the game ended without creating an opportunity to do so.
Overall, Tottenham’s performance wasn’t enough to score three points, but coach Mourinho expressed a decent focus on referee decisions after the match. British media Daily Mail reported that “Mourinho’s onslaught against referee Andre Mariner who gave Chelsea a decisive penalty kick.”
After the ending whistle was blown, coach Mourinho turned to the Mariner referee. When asked about’what kind of conversation he had,’ coach Mourinho said, “I think he is the EPL’s best judge. I like him and I respect him.”
He then revealed his thoughts without any addition or subtraction. Coach Mourinho said, “In the end, the penalty decided the game. They scored the goal as a penalty, not a penalty. It is a difficult decision to win over and it is painful to lose the game in this way.”
Finally, he said, “When I played a difficult game against Chelsea, I (reluctantly) gave me a penalty and it had an effect,” he said, giving the nuance of being difficult to admit defeat.
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