Pochettino savours win on ’emotional’ Spurs return

Mauricio Pochettino was pleased to take the points on what he described as a “very emotional” night following Chelsea’s 4-1 away victory over his former side Tottenham.

Cole Palmer’s first-half penalty cancelled out Dejan Kulusevski’s opener after Christian Romero was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Enzo Fernandez.

Following Spurs’ second red card of the game, this time for Destiny Udogie, a hat-trick from summer signing Nicolas Jackson sealed a dramatic win for the Blues against their fierce rivals.

Pochettino said: “To come back here and say hello again to all the staff, it’s a gift. It’s very emotional, so many memories.

“The game was so passionate, competitive. Being honest, we needed the three points and we did that.

“I think we deserved to win and we forced them to make their mistakes. Our performance was good and everything that happened in the game was fair and that ended in a 4-1 win.”

The result took Chelsea into the top half of the table, where they sit 10th on 15 points – nine points off the Champions League places.

Pochettino added: “We have played really well since the start of the season and have deserved more, but if you see the table we are in the middle.

“In the end it is about winning points and today it is important for us to come here against a team playing really well and this can be an important three points to build our confidence and start to push up the table.

“The most important thing is the result, three points for us and we need to keep moving. I’m looking forward to our next game.”

Following criticism of VAR in recent weeks and its heavy use during what was sometimes a chaotic London derby, Pochettino said: “This is the football we wanted. We allowed the technology to arrive. We cannot complain now it is here.

“I did not want VAR in the first place, but now it is here we must support it to try and find the best way to use it which is difficult.”