Mauricio Pochettino admitted he feared Tottenham were in for a hiding when they conceded a poor first goal just 14 minutes into their 4-1 defeat at Manchester City.
Ilkay Gundogan headed home unmarked as Spurs conceded sloppily from a set-piece for the third time in four games, before Kevin de Bruyne and two Raheem Sterling goals finished them off.
“We were poor, but not only poor – the first goal we conceded was a massive mistake,” Pochettino said.
“When you play against a team like Manchester City and you concede a goal like this – come on – we have to be calm and talk, and try to be better.
“I am not going to talk about individual performances today because it is not fair. Our collective performance is most important and it was not what we expected today.
“We need to learn from this situation. We need to improve. Today was a good example to see a team that believes, that has quality and strength, and is in very good form. They deserved the victory.”