Antwerp boss Ivan Leko paid tribute to ‘gentleman’ Jose Mourinho after Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 Europa League victory on Thursday night, while speaking to Nieuwsblad.
Harry Winks and Dele Alli might use a different word to describe the Spurs coach this morning.
You don’t need to be a body language expert to realise that Winks was far from happy after being subbed off less than an hour into a rare start. The seldom-seen Alli, meanwhile, disappeared down the tunnel when it became apparent that he was to be denied a chance against the Jupiler League side.
Mourinho leant on his tried and trusted once again as Tottenham finished their group stage campaign with a win, the supreme Giovani Lo Celso stylishly adding to Carlos Vinicius’ opener after substitute Harry Kane laid on yet another pinpoint assist.
Antwerp beat Tottenham 1-0 in Belgium a few weeks ago and perhaps that is why Mourinho opted to bring on Kane, Heung Min Son and Tanguy Ndombele rather than, say, Alli. The Portuguese hates complacency after all.
For Leko, a 2-0 defeat mattered little with Antwerp joining Spurs in the knockout stages.
“Let’s start with the positive,” Leko reflected. “We played today on the field of Tottenham, who were in the Champions League final two years ago. That in itself is already a punishment.
“And we move on to the next round, coming out of pot 4 and being a real outsider – no status, no respect from the opponents. We have represented Belgian football in a very good way. With sometimes very nice football. We deserve to be among the last 32 in this Europa League.
It seems that Mourinho agreed with Leko’s assessment.
“Mourinho is a big gentleman. He complimented my team and I complimented his team too – they are well ahead of the Premier League. It was an honour to play against a coach of that calibre. I hope that one day I can approach his level.”
Lo Celso was the undoubted Man of the Match, with a trademark performance chock-full of energy, endeavour and attacking thrust, while Lucas Moura and Japhet Tanganga also caught the eye.
Gareth Bale, meanwhile, produced his finest moment since returning to Spurs; a thumping 35-yard free-kick clattering off the post to set up Vinicius’s opener.
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