Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino Excited for First Win
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino spoke about his team’s first win of the season and what it means to everyone.
Tottenham’s match yesterday at White Hart Lane perfectly summed up how difficult Premier League games are on a yearly basis.
Crystal Palace are no pushovers, but Spurs usually are the favorites when the two London-based clubs play one another.
With multiple opportunities presenting themselves, on three clear chances, Spurs were unable to score a goal.
It left the match at a deadlock and Palace growing confident with each possession.
Related Story: Match Report: Tottenham 1-0 Crystal Palace
After last week’s draw at Goodison Park against Everton, a second consecutive draw would not have been well received.
Last season Tottenham failed to get any wins in August, which heavily attributed to their third-place finish and missing out on a Premier League title.
For 81 minutes, it was a reminiscent scene at White Hart Lane: dominating but not scoring.
And with only nine more minutes plus stoppage time left, it looked as if a draw was already in the books.
That is, until Victor Wanyama headed home the winning goal in the 82nd minute to steal all three points away from Crystal Palace.
The entire ground erupted in elation, fans watching at home lost their minds and joining them was of course Mauricio Pochettino and his staff.
“I don’t remember if I ran or not,” Pochettino said (via Tottenham’s official site). “It’s emotion.”
“We were very close to scoring in the first half, the second half the same and when you score in the 84th minute it’s impossible to keep calm.
“Toni [Jiménez, goalkeeper coach] worse than me. He’ll get an injury!”
“Jesús [Pérez, assistant manager] is more calm, he just runs a lot in training sessions!”
With not much time left in the game, all Spurs had to do was run out the clock.
After the final whistle had blown, Tottenham recorded their first win of the season and find themselves sitting seventh in the league table.
It’s early days but getting four points in their opening two games is massive.
A draw last week on the road was a good point to pick up, now that Spurs won at home, the result against Everton looks much more better.
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“It’s very important for us, a massive victory,” Mauricio Pochettino continued.
“It’s true it’s at the beginning but it’s always important to put that pressure away.”
“I remember last season we needed to work hard to get the first victory, now it’s important to follow up in the week and try to be ready to compete next week.”
One thing that keeps Spurs in games even when things aren’t going their way is belief.
The Argentine manager knows that his side will continue battling until the final whistle is blown and that’s exactly what they did.
“Win late or early, it’s a win, I’m happy and very pleased with the performance of our players.”
“It was a difficult game from the beginning because we created a lot of chances but couldn’t score.”
“The most important thing is belief, always.”
“We didn’t give up, we fought until the last minutes and it’s for that reason we scored and won the three points.”
After the 1-0 win, Mauricio Pochettino praised his two new signings and the support by the Tottenham faithful for pushing the team to a late victory.
Next: Five Takeaways: Tottenham 1-0 Crystal Palace
“We know Victor very well and he can score at set-pieces, he’s strong.”
“It’s good that different players can score, not just our strikers, but our midfielders as well and they can help the team.”
“Our supporters were great today and the combination was fantastic between the players and our people. Full credit to the players.”
“It was also important for our new players Victor and Vincent to feel the love from our supporters.”