Soccer

Mauricio Pochettino confident Spurs can conquer Barca

Tottenham must beat Spanish side in the Nou Camp in order to advance

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino shakes hands with Inter Milan’s Luciano Spalletti after the Champions League victory for Spurs at Wembley. Photo: Ben Stansall/Getty Images

Paul MacInnes at Wembley
Thu Nov 29 2018 - 06:23

Tottenham can still qualify for the Champions League knockout rounds according to Mauricio Pochettino, who believes his side's 1-0 victory over Internazionale has changed the dynamic of their group ahead of the crucial final round of fixtures.

Christian Eriksen’s 80th-minute winner means that Spurs travel to Barcelona on 11 December knowing that a win will be enough to see them through to the round of 16, whatever Inter manage against PSV Eindhoven.

“Now we are in a situation that depends on us,” said Pochettino after the win. “If we can win in Barcelona we can progress to the next stage. Of course it is going to be very difficult. We have to stay humble and try to improve.

“All is possible in football. We have big respect for Barcelona. They are one of the best teams in Europe and have unbelievable players. It will be so tough. But one thing we have is belief and faith that we can win.

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“Of course we have to show again a great level and compete at our best. To arrive in Barcelona and compete we will need fresh legs, fresh minds and no injuries. We need to manage that and rotate the squad. Demands are so tough. Every three days playing games is so tough.”

Pochettino said he believed his team deserved the victory. “We dominated and we created the best chances,” he said. He also defended starting the game with both Son Heung-min and the goalscorer Eriksen on the bench.

“One thing I don’t like about football is the rules, maybe we should play more like basketball and go in and out. But we cannot play with 13 players. If you look at the fixtures, we are going to play 12 games in 40 days. There aren’t players who can play in all 12.

The most important thing is to try and avoid risk, to mix the team, make all players feel important.” If we win we are right, if we lose we are wrong. But I would like to change that mentality in football of ‘why play one and not another?” – Guardian service

Christian EriksenMauricio Pochettino