Jose Mourinho had to apologise to Eric Dier for substituting him in the 4-2 comeback win against Olympiakos.
Speaking in his post-match interview with BT Sport, Mourinho said, “The first thing I want to say is to publicly what I did in the dressing room is to apologise to Eric Dier. It is never easy for a player but not for the coaching staff either. It was for the team and we needed a different solution.
”We were losing 2-0, they were closing really well and I needed a second man with Dele Alli to come into the pockets. It was between Dier and Harry Winks but a hard decision. They understand, Eric understands but the reality it is never a easy and to make it clear, it was about the team not individuals. I thought about taking out one of the centre-backs and putting Eric in defence.
“We have qualified for the next round, that is the important thing for all of us at the club and the fans. It was hard, they are a good team, very well organised and they attacked our self-esteem and self-confidence. I did not expect our boys to feel this pressure at home and they have not had the best results in the last few months.
”It was a tough time, more than the changes or the tactical talk, I told them to keep calm, keep confident and believe in ourselves.”
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