Jose Mourinho criticised the performances of Gareth Bale and Tanguy Ndombele after Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat in the north London derby against rivals Arsenal.
Both Spurs players were substituted during the second half at the Emirates Stadium, where the hosts came from behind to win.
Bale was replaced by Moussa Sissoko 11 minutes after the interval and Ndombele was hooked for Dele Alli five minutes later.
And boss Mourinho pulled no punches in his assessment at his post-match press conference.
Asked why he brought off Bale, Mourinho replied: “Intensity. Gareth and Tanguy, we need more intensity in the game.
“We need to press more. We need to get more depth. We need to be more intense in the game.
“We needed Sissoko to give us that intensity in midfield that Tanguy was not bringing.”
Mourinho felt the changes were justified as his team finished strongly despite the 76th-minute sending-off of Erik Lamela, who had earlier put Spurs ahead.
“Even with 10 players, we improved significantly,” Mourinho said.
“The second half was our half. When we made the changes we made them to win the game because we felt that the game then was under control.
“Even in the first half, when winning 1-0, we never felt in control. In the second half at 1-1 we felt we had control.”