Kyle Walker reveals Liverpool hammering brought his manager to TEARS
Kyle Walker has recalled a tough defeat to Liverpool that left him and his teammates in tears.
At the time, the Manchester City defender was still playing for Tottenham Hotspur and was part of the side that suffered a 5-0 loss to Liverpool at White Hart Lane in December 2013.
Luis Suarez scored twice for Brendan Rodgers' side, with additional goals from Jordan Henderson, Jon Flanagan, and Raheem Sterling, sealing a dominant win in North London. Spurs were also reduced to 10 men when Paulinho was sent off after 60 minutes with the score at 2-0.
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Liverpool thrashing led to AVB sacking
The result marked the end for Tottenham’s manager, Andre Villas-Boas. While the victory moved Liverpool to second in the Premier League, Spurs, who were in seventh, were struggling after Gareth Bale’s departure to Real Madrid.
Pressure had been mounting on Villas-Boas, after a heavy 6-0 loss to Manchester City just three weeks earlier.
Villas-Boas was sacked less than 24 hours after the Liverpool game. Reflecting on how the squad learned about the decision, Walker revealed that Villas-Boas broke down in tears when addressing the team, and many players, including Walker, became emotional as well.
Kyle Walker reveals there were tears at Tottenham when Andre Villas-Boas was sacked 😢
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“He was just so, so nice. He was too nice, and sometimes I think that worked against him,” Walker shared on his BBC podcast, You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker.
“I’ll never forget it. We were sitting in the auditorium, and we heard he was leaving. Daniel Levy had sacked him, but he was still in the building, and we were about to train. He came downstairs and started crying in front of us.”
Walker recalled how Villas-Boas’ assistant urged him to compose himself, but the emotional moment led many players to tears.: “Michael Dawson was welling up, and I had tears running down my face. He meant so much to us, not just as a manager but on a personal level. As a team, we probably let him down.”
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