|
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said his side lacked the experience required to compete with Premier League leaders Chelsea after he oversaw a 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge. Pochettino's decision to drop striker Roberto Soldado and bring Erik Lamela back into his line-up meant he opted to reduce the average age of his team, yet he suggested his player need time to find their feet against the elite of English football, in comments that may surprise some Tottenham supporters. "We're a very young team. Today you could see that we have a very young squad who need games," Pochettino told the BBC. "It's not because of that we lost. Chelsea were just very clinical in front of goal. "We're very disappointed because we started very well and created some chances to score and after we conceded in Chelsea's first action, the game changed. After two or three minutes we made a mistake and they scored again. "I want to congratulate my players because they were brave in the second half. It was difficult but this is football. You need to be clinical in front of goal against Chelsea. We had a lot of chances in the first 20 minutes, but we were unlucky we didn't score and then they did." Pochettino went on to suggest Tottenham's poor record at Stamford Bridge affected his team, even though he suggested in the build up to the game that they would not be affected by the fact that Spurs have not beaten Chelsea away from home since Gary Lineker scored their winner in the old First Division in February 1990. "The history here is difficult," added the Argentine tactician, who has now lost six of his first 13 Premier League games in charge of Tottenham. "At 2-0 down at Chelsea, they are in a comfortable situation. We tried to score and create chances on counter attack and I feel we deserved to score, but we were up against a very tough team. "I am very positive. The team made some many positive things. We are a team that is in a good way and this was a very good game to show this, but we need to be more clinical in front of the goal. "At 3-0 you cannot be happy, but we made many things positive. We fight for every ball and it is a shame, but this is football."
|
