Dele Alli put Tottenham s disappointing performance in Wednesday s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United down to arrogance borne out of the winning start they had made to Jose Mourinho s tenure.
Mourinho was appointed as Mauricio Pochettino s successor last month and had overseen three successive victories in his first three matches at the helm.
Wednesday brought Mourinho s first return to Old Trafford as a manager since he was sacked by the club in December 2018, but Spurs failed to continue their recent resurgence.
Marcus Rashford produced a talismanic display for the Red Devils, scoring both of their goals either side of a spectacular strike from Alli, who arguably more than anyone else has been re-energised by Mourinho s hiring.
But Alli s goal aside, Spurs created precious few clear-cut opportunities and were fortunate to be on level terms at half-time, with the former MK Dons talent suggesting Tottenham had begun to believe their own hype following three wins on the bounce.
“It’s a wake-up call.” reflects on tonight’s defeat to Man Utd.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
We had to match their [United s] energy. We lost the game not by them outplaying us – just attitude, the England international told reporters.
We weren t hungry enough and we were slow to every second ball, losing 50-50s. Maybe it was a little bit of arrogance and over-confidence. We’ve been playing well.
We have to learn from this. Games like this bring your feet back down.
Victory moved United up to sixth and provided manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a much-needed boost ahead of Saturday s Manchester derby at bitter rivals and champions Manchester City.
Spurs slipped down to eighth with the defeat.
