Tottenham Hotspur had the perfect chance to put their poor Premier League form behind them today as they took on a team in the bottom half of the Championship table.
Spurs travelled to the Riverside Stadium to face Middlesbrough and ex-Tottenham players Jonathan Woodgate and Robbie Keane.
However, the Lilywhites were pegged back for the fifth game in a row as Middlesbrough managed to beat the three centre-backs of Alderweireld, Vertonghen, and Dier with a simple ball over the top.
Luckily, a brilliant cross from Serge Aurier and a clinical headed finish from Lucas Moura pulled Tottenham level in the second half.
Spurs then knocked on the door for a winner in the closing stages but were unable to find one, thus booking a replay with the Championship side.
Mourinho claims that the most frustrating thing about the game was having so much control of the game before conceding the goal.
He said (Football London): “Frustrated me to be in control of the game and to concede a goal. I know it is offside but that is football. It can happen. It also frustrated me that we arrived after so much creation we arrived in so many scoring positions and then the last ball, the last cross, the simple one, we did it only once with a good cross for a good header. Of course, it’s a new thing for the team to play without Harry, without a striker. We tried to give them the mobility of Son and Lucas, we tried to give that to the team but it was not easy. It’s fair to say that Middlesbrough are in a good run of results, well organised and made it difficult for us as they tried to explore the long ball or the set-piece to try and hurt us. In the end, I think it was a good game.”
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