MX23RW : Saturday, July 25 21:44:34| >> :120:33371:33371:
Jul 19, 2020 at 4pm UK at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
SpursTottenham Hotspur
3-0
LeicesterLeicester City
Justin (6' og.), Kane (37', 40')
Moura (57'), Sanchez (86')
FT(HT: 3-0)

Evans (73')

Brendan Rodgers insists that Jose Mourinho deserves more respect

Brendan Rodgers insists that Jose Mourinho deserves more respect
© Reuters
Spurs were 12th in the Premier League when the Portuguese took over in November and are now seventh.

Brendan Rodgers has accused Jose Mourinho's detractors of showing the Tottenham boss "a lack of respect".

Spurs were 12th in the Premier League when Mourinho succeeded Mauricio Pochettino in November, and the Portuguese has lifted them into seventh and raised the prospect of playing European football next season with two games remaining.

But Mourinho's playing style and tactics are often perceived as negative and the three-time Premier League title winner has faced plenty of criticism since he has been in north London.

Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal – Premier League – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Jose Mourinho has improved Tottenham's Premier League position since joining the club in November (Julian Finney/NMC Pool)

"Jose is a world-class manager. He has been until this point of his career and will continue to be that," said Rodgers, who spent time as Mourinho's youth and reserve-team manager at Chelsea.

"It (criticism) is a lack of respect and normally from people that have never stood on this sideline.

"OK, football continues to evolve and change, but you still have room for different types of football.

"Jose's a master at getting his teams organised, difficult to beat and winning. There's different philosophies and identities of managers and there's no right or wrong.

"He's proven over many years that he's such a successful manager and he'll be looking to bring success to Tottenham. His longevity in the game, what he's done, and what he continues to do deserves a huge amount of respect."

Leicester boss Rodgers says he is looking forward to his first visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the Foxes seek to keep their Champions League dream alive.

Fourth-placed Leicester – who have had injured pair Ben Chilwell and James Maddison ruled out for the rest of the season – are level on points with Manchester United and the two sides meet on the final weekend.

"It would certainly be up there," Rodgers said when asked where getting Leicester into the Champions League would rank in his career achievements.

"At Liverpool it was about getting the club back in the Champions League. At Celtic it was a different challenge but we did good work there too.

"Coming here's a different challenge because there's not that expectancy. There's ambition of course, and the challenge of bringing a team into the top six.

"We've been able to do that in our first full season and now we have a chance over a couple of games to go even better than that and arrive in the top four.

"But if we didn't get in the top four it would still be an absolutely brilliant season for us."

Leicester bounced back from a shock 4-1 defeat at struggling Bournemouth to record only a second post-lockdown win against Sheffield United on Thursday.

AFC Bournemouth v Leicester City – Premier League – Vitality Stadium
Leicester were on the wrong end of a shock 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth (Glyn Kirk/NMC Pool)

The victory reinforced Rodgers' belief that Leicester can recapture early-season form which saw them only beaten by Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United before Christmas.

"It was a big psychological shift to get over what we went through at Bournemouth and then go again," Rodgers said.

"We're not a team that goes soft the way we did in the second half, our defensive record shows that

"We fell way below our standard. It was really important that we said what we had to say and then move on quickly."

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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CLiverpool37313382325096
2Manchester CityMan City37253997356278
3Manchester UnitedMan Utd371712864362863
4Chelsea371961267541363
5Leicester CityLeicester371881167392862
6Wolverhampton WanderersWolves371514851381359
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs3716101160461458
8Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd371412113836254
9Burnley37159134248-654
10Arsenal371314105346753
11Everton371310144353-1049
12Southampton37147164859-1149
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle371111153755-1844
14Crystal Palace37119173049-1942
15West Ham UnitedWest Ham37108194861-1338
16Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton37814153753-1638
17Aston Villa3797214066-2634
18Watford37810193461-2734
19Bournemouth3787223764-2731
RNorwich CityNorwich3756262670-4421

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