- Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho was full of praise for debutant Steven Bergwijn but had harsh words for the video assistant referee after his team's 2-0 win over champions Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
LONDON • Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho was full of praise for debutant Steven Bergwijn but had harsh words for the video assistant referee after his team’s 2-0 win over champions Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Dutch midfielder, signed this week from PSV Eindhoven for £27 million (S$48.2 million), started on the left wing and impressed with his work rate, although not as much as he impressed in the moment when he conjured up the breakthrough goal after 63 minutes.
It was a stunning piece of technique and it seemed to unfold in the blink of an eye – the chest control from Lucas Moura’s chipped pass followed by the right-footed volley from the edge of the area that flashed low into the far corner.
The 22-year-old, who was replaced by Erik Lamela in the 70th minute, also finished with more touches inside the City box (four) than any of his teammates.
“It was a great goal and so important for us,” said Mourinho.
“The icing on the cake of a very good performance.
“Independent of the goal, his performance was very good, very solid, very mature. He was clever enough to create some problems.
“Also, defensively, he was very aware of his position, very good at covering spaces.”
Mourinho was not as happy with the decision not to send off Raheem Sterling for a bad challenge after 12 minutes on Dele Alli. The decision by on-pitch referee Mike Dean to caution the City forward was reviewed by Kevin Friend the VAR for a possible red card.
“I thought I was going to love VAR the same way I love goal-line technology,” said the Portuguese boss, adding that there were no mistakes with goal-line technology but “too many” with VAR.
While City’s pursuit of Liverpool has long run out of steam, a second successive league win revived Tottenham’s push for a top-four finish.
They have moved up to fifth on 37 points, four points behind London.
It was a sweet moment for Mourinho, who claimed his biggest scalp since replacing Mauricio Pochettino in November.
