Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
We can beat Real.. but must be brave
TOTTENHAM’S stars have been told by Mauricio Pochettino to be “brave”, as the manager insisted they can defeat Real Madrid. Pochettino says Spurs will go on an all-out attack against the European champions, after claiming it is a good opportunity to beat Zinedine Zidane’s men. Tottenham held Real in the Bernabeu, when Pochettino played with two strikers in Harry Kane and Fernando Llorente, and will again take the game to the Spanish giants at Wembley. He said: “This is a game you have to be brave in. When you are playing against the best team in the world, if you are not brave, it is so difficult. You start losing.
“And yes we are going to be brave. For me, it is important our mentality is right. We are going to try to play without fear, dominate the game, and try to win with that mentality.
“You have to play every game with that feeling. Because that is the game that we like to play, because we love to play football. And it is so important to play with freedom and enjoy the game.
“If you have fear, it is difficult to show your real quality. And this is a game where we must do our job and believe we can win. On the pitch we must show good quality, enjoy the play, and try to perform better than Real.”
Madrid have made a disastrous start in La Liga, lost to Girona on Sunday, and the pressure is mounting on Zidane. But Spurs have not beaten Real in five attempts in Europe.
Pochettino added: “It’s a good opportunity. We have a good chance to change that stat. It’s our challenge.
“I feel Real Madrid is the best team in the world. But, at the same time when I praise them, I have the belief we can win. I have faith in my players.
“I have faith in the way we can play.”