Mourinho recalls Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo's stats in impassioned defence of Harry Kane

Since his appointment as Tottenham manager last year, Jose Mourinho has been under the lens for the team’s unimpressive campaign. The manager was again on the receiving end of criticism after their recent draw against Manchester United, with Harry Kane failing to score at home. However, Mourinho, as he usually does, hit back at his critics citing his records with other global football superstars.

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Jose Mourinho criticised for Harry Kane's performance in 1-1 draw with Man United

Harry Kane played his first game in six months after he sustained a severe injury at the turn of 2020. However, the striker’s underwhelming performance was there for all to see as he failed to get a single touch in the opposition penalty area. Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson criticised Mourinho’s tactics, saying that he was worried for Kane under the Portuguese manager and he believes the striker could seek an exit if Tottenham go trophyless.

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Jose Mourinho recalls Didier Drogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo's performances

Mourinho, in a virtual press conference before the game against West Ham, responded to Merson’s claims, reminding him of several top players who succeeded under him. Mourinho claimed that the likes of Didier Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Diego Milito and Zlatan Ibrahimovic performed exceptionally well when he was in charge with their respective clubs, claiming that their stats weren’t hidden from anyone.

Mourinho reminded Merson that Cristiano Ronaldo scored 168 goals when the former was in charge at Real Madrid spanning three seasons. He also cited Didier Drogba’s stats under him at Chelsea, saying that he scored 186 goals for him over four seasons at Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, the likes of Karim Benzema and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored 78 and 58 goals respectively under his watchful eye.

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Spurs to host West Ham United after draw against Red Devils

Harry Kane has managed to score seven times in the 10 games he has played under Mourinho. The former Real Madrid manager asserted that Kane does not face any problem whatsoever to score goals for him, especially when he is fit and playing regularly.

Mourinho received flak for his tactics against Man United despite leading initially courtesy of a phenomenal goal from Steven Bergwijn in the first half. The manager made only two changes against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, who introduced five permitted substitutions in the game. Mourinho's men will next host West Ham United on Tuesday (Wednesday according to IST).

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Image courtesy: Tottenham/Cristiano Ronaldo Twitter