Oh no, Harry’s on his knees again
MAURICIO POCHETTINO told his Tottenham players they do not deserve to progress in the Champions League after they were held 2-2 despite dominating against PSV Eindhoven. Pochettino said his team’s chances were all but gone after conceding an 87th-minute equaliser. ‘It is nearly over,’ said the manager on a night his captain Hugo Lloris was sent off. ‘One point from
three games — it will be really difficult. We need to win the three games we have left and hope some results help us.’ Only seven teams out of 67 have qualified from such a position at the halfway stage, including Arsenal in 2003 and Liverpool four years later. Pochettino added: ‘If you don’t win this type of game you don’t deserve to be in the Champions League. When you play so much better and you dominate, you create the best chances and you cannot kill the game, the game is always open. Then you can concede goals like we did.’ The manager refused to blame Lloris, who was shown a straight red card for a mistimed tackle outside the penalty area which denied Hirving Lozano a clear scoring opportunity. He will miss the return against PSV at Wembley next month. ‘I am not going to blame any player,’ said Pochettino. ‘We didn’t win. If you want to blame somebody, blame me. Hugo does not need to apologise. It wasn’t a mistake, it was an action that can happen a lot. It is more about the collective. ‘It is one thing to show we are on the same level as Barcelona and another to play against PSV and have a lot of possibilities to win. Maybe you can say we deserve more but football is not about what you deserve. ‘It is to be aggressive and score more goals than your opponent. It was under control. You cannot allow your opponent time to be alive. If not, you pay.’