Jose Mourinho explains Gareth Bale absence against Dinamo Zagreb
Jose Mourinho went on to explain why Gareth Bale was absent when Tottenham played Dinamo Zagreb (h/t Football.london). Bale was among the 7 names to drop to the bench after the Crystal Palace game as Mourinho tries to manage his minutes carefully.
Spurs went into the Zagreb game retaining just 4 players in the starting XI of the Palace game. Bale came into this game on the back of some splendid performances, scoring four goals in the last three games. However, he was only called up in the 64th minute to play out the rest of the match.
Mourinho spoke about keeping Bale fresh for the North London derby on the weekend.
“We are. Not just me – me and him. His feelings, the way he feels his body, so many matches that we have to play. Of course the second leg is more important than the first leg in the end. Arsenal away, Villa away, it’s too much, not just for Gareth, it’s too much for everyone, so we are managing a little bit.”
Tottenham do have a hectic line-up of games coming up with Arsenal on the weekend, Zagreb’s second leg after that and Aston Villa post that. All these are away games and a lot of travel will be involved.
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So far Jose Mourinho has handled Bale well in terms of keeping him fit and firing. With Spurs dispatching Zagreb easily, the decision to not start Bale looks wise. He will likely start in the derby on the weekend and influence it better now.
