‘Proud’ Pochettino refuses to blame Tottenham players for Wembley defeat
Mauricio Pochettino refused to blame his Tottenham players for conceding two second-half goals to crash out of the Champions League against Juventus.
Spurs looked to be heading into the quarter-finals after Heung-Min Son’s first-half strike put them 3-2 up on aggregate, but Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala delivered a hammer blow within three devastating minutes.
“I am disappointed because we missed a lot of chances, and the team deserved more,” Pochettino said. “The way we conceded we feel disappointed but not only me, the players in the changing room as well.
“It was a little bit unfair. To concede these goals is tough because until this moment we were much better. I feel very proud. We dominated. Overall in the two games we were much better.
“When you compete at the same level against a team that played two finals in this competition, only you can feel proud and understand that, in football, sometimes you cannot win for different circumstances.
“It was no lack off experience, no lack of concentration. How many chances did we concede in first and second leg? We conceded three (tonight) and they scored twice. We created a lot and scored one.
“We can talk about different situations. (But) all we are going to talk now is all rubbish because in the end you win or lose. Sometimes you need some luck. We were unlucky because if Harry (Kane) scores at the end, or the chances in the first half go in…that is football.
“Only I can say again I am happy with my players. We tried everything to win. Now we have to be positive and try to help the team to improve.”
