• Tottenham coach Jose Mourinho follows the action from the sidelines during the Champions League match at RB Leipzig. AFP
    Tottenham coach Jose Mourinho follows the action from the sidelines during the Champions League match at RB Leipzig. AFP
  • RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann celebrates after the match. Reuters
    RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann celebrates after the match. Reuters
  • Leipzig's Emil Forsberg, centre, celebrates after scoring. AP
    Leipzig's Emil Forsberg, centre, celebrates after scoring. AP
  • Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur after Marcel Sabitzer scored the first. Getty
    Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur after Marcel Sabitzer scored the first. Getty
  • Marcel Sabitzer of Leipzig celebrates his team's second goal. Getty
    Marcel Sabitzer of Leipzig celebrates his team's second goal. Getty
  • Marcel Sabitzer of Leipzig celebrates his team's second goal. Getty
    Marcel Sabitzer of Leipzig celebrates his team's second goal. Getty
  • Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho. Reuters
    Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho. Reuters

Jose Mourinho admits Spurs are struggling: 'These problems are not going to disappear'


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Manager Jose Mourinho admitted Tottenham will struggle to get back into the Champions League next season after being comprehensively knocked out by RB Leipzig.

A depleted Spurs, beaten finalists last year, crashed out of this year's tournament after going down to the Germans 4-0 on aggregate in the last 16.

It was their last remaining hope of silverware this season but it never looked likely in east Germany as they lost 3-0 in the second leg, with Marcel Sabitzer scoring a brace and Emil Forsberg adding a late effort.

Spurs have nine games left in the Premier League to try to save their campaign, but their situation looks grim. They are seven points off fourth-placed Chelsea and the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Moussa Sissoko and Steven Bergwijn are not going to be back from injury any time soon.

The match with Manchester United on Sunday will be pivotal and Mourinho accepts a top-four finish will be a big ask.

"With the squad we have at the moment it's going to be very, very difficult," he said. "These problems are not going to disappear from today to tomorrow.

"But we have matches to play, matches to fight in. You can see in our matches in the Premier League that we fight until the end.

"In the Premier League we don't have results where we had no chances to fight for the points.

"When we lost matches, we lost matches 2-1, 3-2, 1-0. We had draws so it's not like we don't fight.

"So we will fight and the players have to be very strong to fight with the limitations we have.

"This time we are not going to recover any players for next Sunday. At least we have a little period, not just two days like we have all the time, we have four days in between."

Mourinho said no team in the world would be able to cope with the amount of injuries to key players his side have suffered.

"It looks like the obvious is that the problems accumulate with the accumulation of injuries," Mourinho said.

"If you want to make an exercise and imagine Leipzig tonight without Sabitzer, (Patrik) Schick, (Timo) Werner, do you think they would win the way they did?

"You go to the European champions and make an exercise? Liverpool without (Mohamed) Salah, (Sadio) Mane, (Jordan) Henderson, (Roberto) Firmino.

"You want to go to Spain and do Barcelona without (Antoine) Griezmann, (Lionel) Messi, (Luis) Suarez.

"Do you want to make this exercise with every team in the world?"