Jose Mourinho reacts to Paulo Gazzaniga’s error in Spurs defeat

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Jose Mourinho has admitted, in comments reported by Football London, that he was surprised by Paulo Gazzaniga’s mistake during Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat to Chelsea, and suggested that the goalkeeper is not even sure about what he was thinking.

Gazzaniga conceded a penalty during stoppage-time at the end of the first-half after colliding with Marcos Alonso. The referee initially gave Spurs a free-kick, but reversed the decision on the advice of VAR.

It was a bizarre incident. The Tottenham goalkeeper was the overwhelming favourite to get to the ball first. But for some reason, he decided to go with his feet and ended up missing the ball and crashing into the Chelsea defender.

Mourinho admitted that he was baffled by the stopper’s actions. And he suggested that he was no less in the dark after speaking to Gazzaniga himself.

“Yeah. Yeah. I was surprised,” he said, as reported by Football London. “But that’s football, I think it’s an easy one. It’s an easy one.

“I spoke with him to try to understand and even himself, he was not in control of his action and he made a mistake. But during matches, players make mistakes, referees make mistakes and coaches make mistakes. No problem.”

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Gazzaniga’s critics will argue that the incident was a reminder as to why Spurs cannot afford to trust him as their regular number one. He has done a good job since Hugo Lloris sustained his injury. But there have been some questions raised along the way.

Goalkeepers are always going to make mistakes, and they are often going to be costly. David de Gea produced a howler in Manchester United’s defeat at Watford on the same day as Gazzaniga’s moment of madness. Nevertheless, the Spaniard seems to be in most of the Premier League Teams of the Decade being compiled this month.

Having a point to prove may bring the best out of Gazzaniga. He has shown that he is capable of man of the match displays. And he will surely be aware that another mistake may end his hopes of remaining Tottenham’s number one once Lloris returns.