Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho has suggested he is treated differently than other Premier League managers, claiming he would be sent off if he behaved the same way as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
Mourinho’s side fell 2-1 to the Reds in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, as Roberto Firmino’s 90th-minute header settled the top-of-the-table clash at Anfield.
Tottenham had just 24 per cent possession and two shots on target compared to Liverpool’s 11, but they could have easily escaped with a point or even all three had Steven Bergwijn or Harry Kane have put away good chances in the second half.
“I told him the best team lost and he disagreed, but that’s his opinion,” Mourinho said of Klopp. “If I behave the same way he does on the touchline, I do not stay there. That’s animated? For some reason I am different.”
Speaking to the BBC, Mourinho added that he felt Klopp and the Liverpool bench were putting undue pressure on the officials to show Giovani Lo Celso a second yellow, forcing him to remove the Argentine after 58 minutes.
“The game was always under control. I feel it was a very undeserved result, but that’s football,” Mourinho added. “At half-time we move a little bit the pieces, but overall the game was always under control and I am very pleased with the performance.
“The changes were to find counterattack situations which we did immediately, but with Gio’s yellow card and the incredible pressure these guys on the touchline put on the officials, I was afraid of the yellow card and I had to take him off. I am not the one to speak to my colleagues about their behaviour on the touchline.”
