Jose Mourinho has apologised to Eric Dier after dragging the midfielder in the first-half of Tuesday's 4-2 win over Olympiakos.

Spurs were stunned when Ruben Semedo made it 2-0 for the visitors after Youssef El-Arabi's early opener.

Mourinho sprung into action, quickly replacing Dier with Christian Eriksen.

The plan paid off as Spurs rallied in the second-half after Dele Alli's brought it back to 2-1 just before the interval.

Harry Kane tied things up before Serge Aurier smashed home Alli's cross to make it 3-2.

England captain Kane then broke Alessandro Del Piero's Champions League record for the fewest amount of games to reach 20 goals, sealing Spurs' passage into the last-16 stage.

Speaking after the game, Mourinho said: "The first thing I want to say is to publicly what I did in the dressing room is to apologise to Eric Dier. 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.

"We have qualified for the next round, that is the important thing for all of us at the club and the fans. It was hard, they are a good team, very well organised and they attacked our self esteem and self confidence.

"I did not expect our boys to feel this pressure at home and they have not had the best results in the last few months. It was a tough time, more than the changes or the tactical talk, I told them to keep calm, keep confident and believe in ourselves."