Pochettino defiant after Chelsea’s derby triumph

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino stood by his team selections this week following the 2-1 defeat at Chelsea.

Pochettino left a number of players out for Spurs’ midweek loss against Monaco which ended their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knockout phase.

He seemingly prioritised the derby at Stamford Bridge, where Premier League leaders Chelsea stormed back to win after Christian Eriksen had put the visitors ahead.

Asked if he had any regrets about his decisions, Pochettino said: “No regrets. I think you (the media) are very focused on rotating players and the names. It’s about the squad.

“If it’s a different result against Monaco then I don’t think you ask. Regrets? No regrets.

“We are competing in the Champions League and Premier League and to be competitive sometimes you have to give a rest to players.

“Never regret, because we are professionals and try to make the best decision for the team and if you lose then accept the criticism.”

Tottenham were excellent in the first half but Chelsea levelled with a fine strike from Pedro just before the interval and went ahead courtesy of Victor Moses’ goal six minutes into the second half.

“After that game, you feel proud. We came from Monaco and that was tough to be out of the Champions League,” Pochettino said.

“I think the answer of the players was clear. It was the right mentality and a good performance, but we lost.

“If you analyse the result, 2-1 for Chelsea – congratulations. But if you analyse the 90 minutes, we played well.

“We played very well for 44 minutes and conceded a great goal from Pedro. If you analyse the whole game, we deserved the minimum of a draw,

“It’s easy to explain; they were clinical in front of goal and we weren’t.”