Mourinho's message to Levy
Jose Mourinho sent Daniel Levy a clear message ahead of kick-off with his Tottenham team selection against Chelsea.
Expected to shuffle his pack anyway given the amount of fixtures coming up for the Lilywhites, the head coach made a total of nine changes from Sunday's draw against Newcastle United.
However, what was noticeable was that there wasn't a striker in his starting XI as Harry Kane dropped down to the bench.
It was Steven Bergwijn and Erik Lamela who were the attacking players selected for the cup tie, yet the 57-year-old made his point ahead of the game when speaking to Sky Sports.
Asked who was lining upfront for Spurs, he said: "Nobody. We don't have a nine. Sonny is injured and Harry has a big game to play Thursday. We have to protect him.
"In this moment we don't have. We are a different club than others. We have to do it in different ways. Today we don't have that No.9."
It is now up to Levy to give Mourinho exactly what he wants before Monday's transfer deadline.
Maccabi Haifa hint
Mourinho was always going to rotate his Tottenham team ahead of Thursday's vital Europa League clash against Maccabi Haifa.
The head coach admitted he had to prioritise it ahead of the Carabao Cup game and his selection reflected that.
With Kane joined on the bench by the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Ben Davies and Lucas Moura, Giovani Lo Celso and Harry Winks were absent from the squad entirely.
The main talking point was the continued absence of Dele Alli once again, however.
Mourinho's decision only intensified talk about the player's long-term future in N17 but the boss may well be saving him for the European tie.
New formation
The cup game against Chelsea also saw Mourinho change things up in terms of his formation.
A number of Spurs fans have been very vocal over the past couple of weeks about playing with wing-backs following Sergio Reguilon's move to north London.
Well, their wish was granted as Serge Aurier and the new signing were given license to push forward as the boss went with a back three.
The two wing-backs did drop back however to form a back five when the visitors were in possession to ensure they were hard to break down.
Although Reguilon had a bit of a shaky moment for Timo Werner's opener, he and Aurier did offer a good outlet going forward when they did push up, including just after the restart when the duo combined as the new man tested Edouard Mendy.
It was a very good debut for Reguilon.
Injury scare
Mourinho really has had some rotten luck with injuries since taking on the Tottenham job last November.
Spurs' issues were well documented at the start of 2020 and the loss of Kane, Son Heung-min and Moussa Sissoko had an impact on the team missing out on a top-four finish.
The team's busy calendar at present means injuries can quite easily happen, as was highlighted on Sunday when Son went off at half-time against Newcastle with a hamstring injury.
Well, Mourinho was cursing his luck midway through the first half once again as Eric Dier sustained a slight problem.
Davinson Sanchez got ready to come on but in the end put his jumper back on as the England international remained on the pitch.
Everyone will be praying that Spurs' injury nightmare doesn't return again.
Dier and Mourinho disappear
With just over 10 minutes remaining in N17 there was a bizarre few seconds as Mourinho sprinted down the tunnel.
The head coach had actually gone to retrieve Dier after he had left the pitch a few seconds before during a brief stoppage.
The England international was soon back out there and it appeared that nature had indeed called.
Thankfully it didn't cost Spurs a goal.
