'Sad' Tottenham were 'suffering' during Brighton defeat, admits Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho says his Tottenham side were ‘a bit sad’ and ‘suffering’ with their self-esteem in the first half of their disappointing 1-0 defeat to Brighton and admits they are in a ‘difficult moment’.

Spurs slipped to their fourth defeat from their last eight league games at the Amex Stadium on Sunday, with Leandro Trossard’s smart finish after 17 minutes the only goal of the game.

Mourinho’s side were lacklustre throughout and badly missed the impact of captain Harry Kane, who was forced off with an ankle injury in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Liverpool.

Heung-min Son and Carlos Vinicius had efforts saved from Brighton’s Robert Sanchez in the latter stages, but the Seagulls were the better team throughout and went on to record their first home win of the season, which moved them seven points above the drop zone.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Mourinho admitted his side were ‘suffering’ after going a goal down early on, however, the Portuguese boss was encouraged by his side’s display in the second half.

‘I saw two different halves,’ he said. ‘We made two mistakes in a row, one hit the post, and one was a goal.

‘I think the boys felt too much that goal we conceded, and the half was a sad half.

‘In the second half, for 25-30 minutes I saw a team with a different soul, a team that was ready to give everything, ready to gamble, and the way we finished we deserved more than what we got.

‘I go home with positive feelings towards my boys because in the last 30 minutes they showed they wanted everything but defeat. We didn’t start well, the goal was kind of….the team was a bit sad, and to concede at the beginning brought more sadness and let’s say self-esteem, the team in the first half was suffering.

‘The second half was different, the spirit was good, people trying really hard, there was some fatigue but I leave with a positive feeling.’

‘We tried to start with a team that would give Son the same dynamic we are used to,’ he added. ‘There is no replacement for Harry, but we tried with [Gareth] Bale to try to connect with him and we were not successful, but I am not speaking about Bale, I am speaking about us.

‘[Carlos] Vinicius is a different player, we tried to change the direction of the game and he brought new energy. The reality is the team improved. We are in a difficult moment – results, injuries, self-esteem, a team with confidence is better than a team with sadness.’

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