Tottenham crashed out of the FA Cup after losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace in the fourth round of the competition on Sunday.
The cup exit came just days after the Lillywhites were knocked out of the Carabao Cup semi final by Chelsea following a penalty shootout.
Due to the heavy exertions from some players during the Carabao Cup tie, Mauricio Pochettino decided to make wholesale changes for the game against Palace with the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters, Kieran Trippier, Juan Foyth, Davinson Sanchez, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, Oliver Skipp and Lucas Moura all coming into the starting eleven.
As a result, the team looked pretty disjointed particularly in the first half as the home side took full advantage and went two goals ahead within 39 minutes. Spurs despite changing the system and putting in a better second-half performance, never managed to recover from the deficit.
Former Liverpool and Spurs midfielder Danny Murphy criticised Pochettino’s team selection and suggested that he didn’t need to rest the likes of Harry Winks and Christian Eriksen for the FA Cup tie.
Speaking during BBC’s Match of the Day, Murphy said, ” “I thought he (Pochettino) missed a trick. Leaving Winks out, who looks fresh, fit, strong and didn’t need a rest. Eriksen the way he plays isn’t particularly dynamic, you can use his technical ability in a different way.”
“He made too many changes against a Palace side that had a point to prove. I think he will look back and think he shouldn’t have – You’re not going to tell me Winks didn’t want to play in the FA Cup!?”
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