JAKARTA - Jose Mourinho confused Tottenham Hotspur after eliminating Toby Alderweireld in the Starting XI against Newcastle United on Sunday local time.

Spurs drew 2-2 against Newcastle at St James Park. It is their latest unsatisfactory result in the Premier League this season.

After Chelsea lost to West Brom on Saturday, Tottenham actually has a chance to beat them to the top four. Moreover, they faced a Newcastle team who lacked confidence.

However, Spurs failed to take advantage of these opportunities after only being able to share points with their opponents. Joe Willock's equalizer in the 85th minute was the ninth time Tottenham have conceded after 80 minutes.

One player not included in the starting line-up was Alderweireld, who was replaced by Joe Rodon.

Mourinho revealed that Alderweireld's absence was because he had only trained one day after returning from international duty.

"They (Alderweireld and Serge Aurier who are also absent) are fit, yes, but they just reported for training yesterday," the manager said at a post-match press conference as quoted by the Daily Star on Monday.

“They are playing for the national team and they did not take the COVID-19 test in time for the training sessions on Thursday, even on Friday. They just came yesterday. "

However, according to the Evening Standard, Tottenham's players were confused by Mourinho's comments. They insisted that Alderweireld report to the Hotspur Way on Wednesday afternoon.

The former Atletico Madrid star played for Belgium's win over Belarus on Tuesday in Leuven and traveled back to London the following morning.

As for this result, the ambition of Jose Mourinho's team to break into the top four was only enough to get up to fifth with a collection of 49 points, still two points behind Chelsea (51).

Meanwhile, Newcastle (29) is keeping up with the competition to avoid relegation and for the time being remain 17th with a safe three points from the red zone.


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