Fringe players fail to impress as Spurs beaten by Bayern

Jose Mourinho may have got some of the answers he was looking for about his fringe players as Tottenham ended their Champions League group stage with a 3-1 loss at Bayern Munich.

With both teams already into the knockout stages, and the Germans confirmed as Group B winners, Mourinho gave some fresh faces a chance to impress, but they mainly floundered in the Allianz Arena.

Kingsley Coman, Thomas Muller and Philippe Coutinho did the damage on a night where Hans-Dieter Flick’s side could have matched the seven goals they got in October’s reverse fixture had they been more clinical.

One potential star to emerge was Ryan Sessegnon, scoring his first goal for the club on his maiden start and Mourinho, who tried to sign him three times as Manchester United boss, will surely see him as a big part of the future.

The others did nothing to suggest the Portuguese is going to deviate away from his big guns as they prepare for a pivotal period in the Premier League, where their chances of qualifying for this competition next term could be defined.

Of course, they could still win it this season, but Monday’s last-16 draw where they could be paired with Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Valencia or RB Leipzig might have to be kind.