Daily Mirror

POCH TO GAMBLE WITHOUT TRIPPIER & ALDERWEIRE­LD

- FROM DARREN LEWIS in Milan

MAURICIO POCHETTINO has taken a Champions League gamble by leaving Toby Alderweire­ld and Kieran Trippier out of his squad to face Inter Milan tonight.

The Spurs boss maintained axing his star defender and England’s best player at the World Cup is a “technical decision”, not

a punishment after defeat to Liverpool last Saturday.

Pochettino insisted: “It’s a technical decision. You can look it up, find it in the dictionary. Tactical is on the pitch. Yeah, maybe tactical is outside of the pitch too. You cannot bring 25 players. You can only play 11, with seven on the bench. That is the reason.”

Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli are still out injured for Tottenham’s opener but Pochettino added: “I never punish players because you win and lose. The plan is to leave them and use different players.

“There’s nothing behind it. Only that we will play with different players. We believe the best decision is to play with different players.”

 ??  ?? RISKY BUSINESS Pochettino makes changes
RISKY BUSINESS Pochettino makes changes

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