Jose Mourinho apologises to Eric Dier for first half substitution

Spurs were 2-0 down after 20 minutes, and nine minutes later Mourinho decided to bring on the attacking Christian Erikssen for Dier.

And the Dane helped change the game as goals from Dele Alli, Serge Aurier and a Harry Kane double helped turn things around and send Tottenham into the knockout stages as runners up.

But Mourinho said he had apologised to Dier in the dressing room after the game.

"The first thing I want to say is to do publicly what I did in the dressing room [after the game] and that is to apologise to Eric Dier," Mourinho told BT Sport. "It is never easy for a player but not for the coaching staff either.

"It was for the team and we needed a different solution. We were losing 2-0, they were closing really well and I needed a second man with Dele Alli to come into the pockets.

"It was between Dier and Harry Winks but a hard decision. They understand, Eric understands but the reality it is never a easy and to make it clear, it was about the team not individuals. I thought about taking out one of the centre-backs and putting Eric in defence."

Tottenham fans will be happy for the change as a loss would have made qualification a whole lot more difficult. And while they miss out on top spot they can rest easy when they travel to Germany to face Bayern Munich in two weeks time.