Tottenham’s Pochettino Expected Tough Game, Pleased with a Point
Earning a draw on the road is a result that Tottenham will gladly take after Bayer Leverkusen’s strong second half performance.
To piggyback on his captain’s remarks following a goalless draw against Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is pleased with his side earning a point.
Although the first half saw three good scoring chances for Spurs to take at least a 1-0 lead — maybe a 2-0 advantage — Tottenham had to keep working hard in order to prevent Bayer from opening the flood gates in the second half.
Hugo Lloris made six saves out of Leverkusen’s 16 total shots. The Frenchman’s finest moment of the match would be his one-handed effort to stop Javier Hernandez from six yards out, all the while managing to keep the ball from rolling past the goal line.
From Pochettino to every Spurs supporter watching live in person or at home, they were simply amazed at the sheer splendor that was on display three minutes into the second half.
“The ball came to Chicharito and he just needed to touch it,” Mauricio Pochettino said on Spurs’ official website. “In my mind, I was thinking ‘okay, now we’ll need to work hard to score’.”
“It was brilliant, just brilliant. To talk about Hugo, he’s one of the best. That’s my opinion about him. It’s great to have him in goal. His save was fantastic and very important for the team.”
Lloris himself said that he needed some luck to make that save on Hernandez’ shot. Of course that was only half the truth, the 29-year-old is one of the world’s best ‘keepers and his fine goalkeeping skills played a part in keeping the game goalless after 90 minutes.
With Spurs having trouble against teams who high-press them, the Argentine manager knew that the game would be tough from start to finish. It’s why he is pleased to come away with a point on the road.
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After all, with AS Monaco and CSKA Moscow also drawing level, it keeps Tottenham in second place in Group E with the return leg against Bayer Leverkusen happening on November 2nd.
“It was the game we expected, a very tough game, difficult for both sides,” Pochettino added. “In the end I’m pleased with the point.”
“I thought we were better in the first half, they were better in the second half. It was two different halves.”
“I’m pleased with the effort because this is a team that plays well, plays aggressive and is always difficult to play against here at the BayArena. We’re still fighting and with the draw between CSKA and Monaco, we’re in the same position as before.”
Spurs’ ability to maintain their composure despite conceding one too many fouls in the second half and weathering the storm with Bayer advancing for the game’s only goal pleased Mauricio Pochettino.
“After the game it’s a good point,” the 44-year-old said. “It was a game where we wanted to take the three points. After the second half, we need to feel pleased with the draw.”
“It’s in our hands now at Wembley. We need to turn around the feeling of that first game against Monaco, to feel that it’s our home and try to show that we deserve to win.”
“It’s tough to recover the points after losing the first game at home but the good win at CSKA and now this draw means it’s all open and in our hands to try to go through to the next round.”
Next: Officiating Both Helped and Hindered Tottenham Against Leverkusen
Spurs will return “home” for matchday four in the Champions League. But while losing to AS Monaco was down to two unlucky breaks back on September 14th, things don’t get easier when Bayer and Tottenham reconvene on November 2nd.
Both sides will be ready for the second meeting and hope to improve a lot in the meantime though it’s a given that Roger Schmidt’s side will present another difficult challenge once again.