Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino knows his side was outclassed by Liverpool on Saturday, but that doesn’t mean his men didn’t earn a point.
They could’ve gotten one in stunning fashion had Sadio Mane‘s stoppage time foul on Heung-Min Son been spotted by referee Michael Oliver moments after Erik Lamela pulled Spurs to within a goal of the Reds.
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But Oliver didn’t see the clip, and Spurs slipped to a second successive defeat. From the BBC:
“Liverpool were better. We competed, we were close, and the action at the end of the game was crazy and the challenge on Son at the end should have been a penalty. Then the result would have been different.”
Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve, but Tottenham was poor on the day. Harry Kane was again ineffective and the team did not account for the lack of Dele Alli until Erik Lamela was brought into the game.
Is Pochettino worried about his team? No, he just thinks the busy World Cup for his many Belgian and English players hurts the early season (even if Spurs started 3-0 and beat Manchester United soundly at Old Trafford).
“I am so good,” he said on NBCSN. “Don’t worry for me. I only worry for the real things. I am so good, the same way we started the season really well. We knew very well this season would be a massive challenge.
“The circumstances after the World Cup are completely different if you compare it to Chelsea or Liverpool, that is why. Before I was relaxed and not worried. Today I am relaxed and not worried. We are going to work hard to try to improve. My confidence and trust in my players is 200 percent, not 100 percent.”
