Jose Mourinho can’t have seen much Liverpool, judging by his comments

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Jose Mourinho can’t possibly have seen much of Liverpool this season, going by his latest comments. That or maybe, just maybe, he’s attempting a mind game.

Jose Mourinho had some fairly inflammatory comments about Liverpool on Tuesday. The Tottenham Hotspur boss downplayed the Reds’ injury crisis.

“Every club has injuries now and again. Liverpool has a big injury, which is [Virgil] Van Dijk,” said Mourinho, per BBC Sport.

“Injuries are normal. James Milner is injured, [Erik] Lamela is injured.”

The Portuguese manager then went on to list what is roughly Liverpool’s first-team and declaring they ‘aren’t injured’.

“Van Dijk is injured and Van Dijk is a very good player of course,” he then said. “But give me Liverpool’s list of injuries and compare that list with what is the best Liverpool team.”

And he wasn’t even done there as Mourinho claimed Spurs had ten injuries – if you include the academy players, all the way down to Under-16 level.

Homework

Mourinho can’t have seen too much of Liverpool, then. There’s no mention of Diogo Jota or Thiago or even Joe Gomez. All three, on current form, would likely start this game.

Gomez, for one, is Liverpool’s first-choice partner for Van Dijk.

He also simply brushes off an injury to Joel Matip. The Cameroonian is the only available senior centre-half but is a real doubt for the match with Spurs.

Then there’s the fact that Jordan Henderson, Alisson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all only just back from spells out. The latter two, in particular, can’t be fully match-fit.

And on top of all of that is the knock-on effects of injuries. There’s little cover for the defence, midfield, or attack right now. Certain players will be exhausted.

Reality

Obviously, Mourinho has seen plenty of Liverpool this season. He may well have seen near-enough every game. There’s little doubt that someone at Spurs will have studied the Reds ahead of this one.

So Mourinho knows full well that Liverpool have a serious problem with injuries. He just can’t have that fit the narrative.

An injury crisis at Anfield would paint Spurs as favourites, after all, and that won’t do. They’re ‘little ponies’, says Mourinho, the absolute underdogs.

The reality is, though, that Spurs are in a strong position for this one. They’re probably still underdogs, yes, but injuries mean they have a much bigger chance than they otherwise would have.