Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino says his side don’t deserve to progress in the Champions League as they’ve been poor following the 2-2 draw with PSV.
The ESPN FC panel go in depth on Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in today’s edition of Extra Time.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has said his side could be helped if the Wembley pitch is in a poor condition for Manchester City’s visit on Monday.
The state of the surface will have been affected by the NFL games played at the national stadium during the last two weekends.
Another, between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jacksonville Jaguars is scheduled to be take place the day before City travel to London, and there are fears that bad weather in the build-up could pose further problems.
“Maybe it’s good for us because we’re going to face one of the best teams in Europe and the world in Manchester City — maybe it will help us,” Pochettino told a news conference.
“We hope the weather will be good and not kill the pitch and we can play in a very good condition. I’m sure all the people that are involved are going to work so hard.
“It was not the plan to be at Wembley. Different things can happen, like the NFL, and you cannot change the date and we need to accept that as reality and not complain.
“No one is going to explain if we don’t win the game that we play in difficult circumstances. When you lose, you lose, and you need to accept the criticism. We created this situation and we need to sort that.”
Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been criticised after a costly error during Wednesday’s Champions League draw at PSV Eindhoven, when he rushed out of his box and was sent off before Eindhoven’s late equaliser.
“For me, Hugo is one of the best keepers in the world,” Pochettino said. “He was Man of the Match against West Ham a few days before.
“Against PSV I think he’s not guilty about the result. In football sometimes that type of action can happen. For me it wasn’t a sending off, it was only a yellow card. Hugo is an important player for us, he’s our captain and there’s no doubt about him.
“For me, all the keepers are strong and Hugo is so strong. That’s why he’s playing at this level and he was a world champion a few months ago.”
Pochettino said Spurs could beat Premier League leaders City and backed them to move towards a similar level once they were into their delayed new stadium.
“Manchester City is on another level,” he said. “We want to achieve and reach this level in a different way. In the moment the club settles into the new stadium, it will be easier to push the team and the club in a similar level that Manchester City is at.
“I don’t believe in football you can find something is impossible. But it will be difficult [to beat City], of course. We need to play well and have a bit of luck to win.”
Midfielder Dele Alli has returned to training after injury, but Pochettino warned that Spurs needed to handle him with care.
“We hope he will be available for Monday, but we’re not sure if we’re going to put him in the squad or not,” he said.
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