Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho wasn’t in the greatest of moods after his side’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool but gave a refreshingly honest interview to talkSPORT.

Individual errors had left him fuming but he also acknowledged his own shortcomings during the game, as he commended his side’s overall performance in the Premier League defeat.

Mourinho cut a frustrated figure after the 3-1 defat to Liverpool
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Spurs’ sloppy errors at the back saw them downed by a clinical Reds side, despite putting in a good first-half performance, conceding the opening goal in the final minute of added time.

Ankle injuries to Harry Kane saw the side given a shake up at the break with Serge Aurier also substituted but Liverpool immediately took advantage and added a second through Trent Alexander-Arnold before a Sadio Mane goal sandwiched Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s deficit-reducer.

Mourinho was able to separate the goals from the performance though, and felt his side had done well, despite the scoreline.

Asked by talkSPORT’s Sam Matterface what he felt had gone awry, Mourinho was swift in his response.

He said: “Individual mistakes. The team was very confident. The team was, in the first-half, very, very solid where it was difficult to say one team was dominating the other because, in my opinion, we had good control of the game.

Kane was twice down with an ankle issue in the first half and was subsituted at the break
Getty Images – Getty

“One mistake in the first minute, one mistake in minute 48. One minute into the second half another mistake and suddenly you are losing 2-0.

“The performance was good, especially in the first half, the performance was very good. It was very solid. The result is bad. It is a defeat. Zero points.”

The half-time changes, one enforced and one not, made the Spurs backline shakier and Mourinho admitted his own error with the switches.

He added: “The reason for the change was because we lost a striker and it was because I was not happy with some individuals and I made mistakes to try and give the team a different possibility but again, the first minute in the second half – goal.”

Harry Winks and Erik Lamela replaced Kane and Aurier but it didn’t work for Spurs
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And Mourinho insisted he could not offer a timeline on Kane’s potential absence but admitted Sunday’s clash with Brighton may well be too soon.

Asked how long he could be on the sidelines for, he revealed: “No, I don’t know. I just know that Harry is a guy with a great spirit with a great sacrifice against painful situations and for Harry to say ‘no chance to play’ then he has no chance to play. It’s simple.

“I don’t think so because the game is [Sunday]. I don’t believe. But I don’t know, I cannot tell you now.”

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