Tottenham unable to compete against Chelsea in Carabao Cup due to fixture pile-up, says Jose Mourinho

Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP28 September 2020

Jose Mourinho says Tottenham's schedule has left them unable to compete against Chelsea in Tuesday's Carabao Cup tie and warned that Heung-min Son's injury would be the first of many for his overworked players.

Spurs face the Blues in the fourth-round just 48 hours either side of Sunday's frustrating 1-1 draw with Newcastle and the one-off Europa League play-off against Israeli side Maccabi Haifa on Thursday.

Mourinho plans to heavily rotate his squad for the visit of his former club and will definitely be without Son, who is set for a scan today after being replaced at half-time against Newcastle with a hamstring problem.

The Magpies added insult to injury when Callum Wilson scored a stoppage-time equaliser from the penalty spot, cancelling out Lucas Moura's goal, after referee Peter Bankes adjudged Eric Dier to have handled following consultation with the VAR.

Spurs stand to make around £15million from the Europa League group stage, which could be crucial to Mourinho's hopes of improving his squad before the transfer deadline, and the Portuguese says he has little choice but the prioritise Thursday over tomorrow's London derby.

In Pictures | Tottenham vs Newcastle | 27/09/2020

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"I would like to fight for the Carabao Cup but I don't think I can," Mourinho told Standard Sport. "We have a game on Thursday that gives us not as much money as the Champions League but the group phase of the Europa League gives us a certain amount that for a club like us is very important.

"Apart from Sonny, everybody is in contention but I think you can imagine that with a game on Thursday that decides a very important thing for us, I think the EFL made a decision for us. They didn't even [simply] create a problem – they made a decision for us. So that's the decision.

"We are going to [rotate the squad]. We know the consequences of it because not every player is the same. And not every player has the same group dynamic because we have clearly a spine and obviously you lose potential.

"And I think Sonny was just the first. More will come. Son was the first, but more will come."

When it was suggested that Spurs should still have a chance of progressing against a Chelsea side who shipped three goals to West Brom on Saturday, Mourinho replied: "Are you joking or serious?"

The Spurs manager then pointed out that Chelsea's schedule is Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday, while Tottenham's are having to contend with Thursday-Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday.

"With their fantastic squad, if their manager decides not to rotate he can perfectly play with the players that he wants [in all three games]," Mourinho added.

Spurs were, at least, handed a bye to the fourth-round after Leyton Orient were forced to forfeit the third-round tie due to a coronavirus outbreak.

Son picked up a knoc on Sunday.
Pool via REUTERS

Orient accepted an offer from Spurs to pay for testing ahead of the game, while Brentford and Hull City refused similar offers from Premier League opponents.

In another dig at the EFL, Mourinho said he had "total sympathy" with the Os, who missed out on £150,000 in broadcast and sponsorship revenue.

"I think they have to be very very upset," Mourinho said. "I think they have to. I have total sympathy for them. I don't think they did anything wrong. They were tested. I think they deserve to play against us, no doubts about it."

Mourinho, whose goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos was sent off after the final whistle yesterday, refused to comment on the late penalty decision or the role of the VAR but pointedly praised Roy Hodgson when asked about the Crystal Palace manager's claim that the new handball law is "killing football".

The result was a sickening gut-punch for Spurs, who totally outplayed the Magpies, twice hitting the woodwork through Son and forcing a string of fine saves from Karl Darlow. Even Steve Bruce, the Newcastle manager, described the new law as "ludicrous" and "a nonsense", and said his side got lucky.

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