Pochettino pays tribute to ‘fantastic’ effort but admits defence must tighten up
Mauricio Pochettino acclaimed his Tottenham Hotspur team after their comeback ended Juventus’s winning streak and meant they will take draw to Wembley in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Gonzalo Higuain scored twice in the first 10 minutes, as Juve threatened to run riot, but Spurs hit back through Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen to avoid defeat in Turin.
Kane’s goal was the first Juve had conceded in their own stadium since Nov 5 and the match was the first of the past 11 that the Italians had not won. Pochettino said: “I feel so proud. We showed great character against a team that played two finals in three years, with amazing experience on the pitch. We are a young team in this competition. To show that performance is to be proud and to congratulate the players because they were fantastic.
“I can only praise the team. The effort was amazing, fantastic. Big congratulations to the players. The performance and the effort was amazing. Two-nil down, always you need more energy.
“We have experience, but not like Juventus in this competition. We start not in a good way. But we showed we are mature enough to compete in the Champions League. We showed great character. The good thing, this is our fourth season and we are always improving in different aspects. This aspect was the last, but it was necessary to try to be competitive and fight for big things.”
Asked how he felt when his team fell two goals behind so quickly, Pochettino replied: “My feeling was so bad. You never hope that happens, to concede a goal. Maybe it was offside, but I don’t want to complain. We start a little bit sloppy. We need to be more solid. But for 83 minutes
we dominated Juventus and that is a thing to praise. Not many teams come here and dominate Juventus.”
Tottenham will go into the second leg at Wembley on March 7 as slight favourites and Pochettino added: “I am happy because the tie is open. The atmosphere will be great and our fans hope to go to the quarter-finals and it is there, only 90 minutes [away].” His reputation will have been enhanced even further by Tottenham’s comeback and the Argentine, whose great, great grandfather was born in Turin, suggested he might like to manage Juve one day.
“I feel like home here,” said Pochettino. “I am born in Argentina, but it feels like home. My culture and my habits, I am Argentinian but Italian Argentinian. I like a lot to stay here. I enjoy it a lot.” Ahead of last night’s game, Pochettino and his players found out that the former Tottenham midfielder Ryan Mason had been forced to retire because of a head injury. “For me, Ryan is a player who will always be special,” said Pochettino. “The door is open for me to help him – and the club – because we love him and Rachel and George and all his family. Don’t worry Ryan, you are going to be a successful person outside the pitch.”
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said: “We have a draw against Tottenham and it is like a big loss. Juventus has never been favourites in this tie. We had 50 per cent possibility before the match and also after this match.”