Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that dropping goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga in the match against Norwich City on Wednesday night was a tough decision.
Spurs returned to winning ways in the match against the bottom-placed side in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory after goals from Dele Alli and Son Heung-min.
The victory took Tottenham into sixth place on the league table with 34 points, six adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea, who managed just a draw against Arsenal in their last fixture.
After the match, the Spurs manager revealed that it was a hard decision to drop Gazzaniga for the match but also expressed his happiness to have ‘one of the world’s best’ goalkeepers, Hugo Lloris, back between the sticks after a prolonged injury setback.
“Mixed emotions for me,” said Mourinho while talking to the media as cited by Reuters.
“Great to see one of the world’s best back but it was a decision which hurt to leave Paulo out.
“The good thing is that (Paulo’s) such a good member of the family and a special friend of Hugo that he shared our happiness to have Hugo back.
“He gave me a lot to think about and I had to be cold without emotions.”
Gazzaniga has managed 24 appearances for Tottenham in the ongoing campaign, largely because of Lloris’ long-term injury.
During those matches, the Spurs goalkeeper conceded 30 goals and only managed to keep five clean sheets.
Gazzaniga has split the Tottenham fans, with some excellent saves at times but a moment of madness in the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea in December.
Lloris is a World Cup winner and an important player for Spurs, with the fans hoping the Frenchman’s return can shore up a leaky rearguard.
