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LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino has said that the gruelling fixture schedule got the better of Tottenham after their 4-2 defeat at Arsenal in the North London derby. Spurs had beaten Chelsea 3-1 and Inter Milan 1-0 in the two games prior to facing Arsenal, and surrendered a 2-1 lead at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Pochettino said that Spurs did not recover mentally from going behind, and that they suffered after a long week. "In the second half we started well," he said. "Until they scored the third goal the game was very competitive. Of course in some periods better for Arsenal, in some periods better for Tottenham. "But when we conceded a third goal it was tough for us to come back mentally, to find the energy to go, to try to again be in the game. Of course in that moment it was very tough for the team, we started to pay there for the Champions League game against Inter and against Chelsea, and we start to suffer. "And then when we concede a fourth and with the sending off of Jan Vertonghen the game was over. "Until the third goal I think the game was even. But yes, after that I think after that we start to pay. It was difficult for the team to show the energy that we normally show. It was tough, but it's normal. Mentally and physically, it was a big, big hit." Players and substitutes from both sides clashed after Eric Dier had made it 1-1, which saw Pochettino run down the touchline in an attempt to calm his side down. "In that moment it was to try to put calm in our players," he said. "At 1-1 I thought there was a massive fight there but I didn't know what was going on at that moment. And when I arrived it was relaxed and calm. I didn't know what had happened. But my intention was always to put calm." "I don't know if it was the celebration of Dier, or what upset some player there that was doing the warm-up. I didn't ask at halftime." Tottenham changed to a back three in an attempt to haul themselves back in front at 2-2, but ended up conceding two more goals. "We started to feel that the energy wasn't there and we wanted to be more compact," Pochettino said. "But in the end we made some mistake and we concede. But that's football. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't work."
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