Mauricio Pochettino challenged his Tottenham Hotspur players to take the club to “the next level” and start winning trophies on the back of their victory against Real Madrid and a result that seals their qualification to the Champions League knockout stages with two matches to spare.
Pochettino described it as one of the more satisfying results of his time at Spurs but he also warned his players the only way to be recognised as a great team would be to prove they could actually win the bigger competitions.
“This sort of win brings with it certain consequences in terms of making us more visible,” he said. “It’s something everyone around Europe will have seen. You’ve seen today that Tottenham is a big team, playing at Wembley in front of more than 80,000 people. We now belong not only among the best teams in England but in Europe, and results like this will show people where we are going.
“What’s important for me is that we are in the next round. We’re starting to believe in our potential and our qualities. We’re now able to compete with the biggest teams on a physical and mental level. Our goals are to win the big competitions. Whether we get there this year or not, we’re certainly moving in the right direction.
“We need to understand that we are at a level where we are playing fantastic against the best teams, and to get to the next level we have to win things. Right now, we’re very proud. But this means nothing if at the end of the season we haven’t won a trophy.”
Quick GuideChampions League group stage classics involving English clubs
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Newcastle 3-2 Barcelona (Sep 1997)
Described as 'the most spine-tingling, frenzied and, ultimately, nerve-wracking 90 minutes ever witnessed at St James’ Park' Newcastle’s victory came courtesy of Faustino Asprilla’s brilliant hat-trick. Barça gained their revenge at the Camp Nou but both ended up finishing behind Dynamo Kyiv
Man Utd 3-3 Barcelona (Nov 1998)
Despite throwing away a two-goal lead, it proved enough to take United through ahead of Barça, before going on to win the final
Leeds 1-0 Milan (Sep 2000)
A catastrophic error from Dida gave Leeds a crucial win courtesy of Lee Bowyer’s goal, with David O’Leary’s side going on to the semis
Newcastle 1-0 Juventus (Oct 2002)
Defender Andy Griffin was the hero as Newcastle beat Barça again, but they would gain their revenge in the next stage
Internazionale 1-5 Arsenal (Nov 2003)
A brilliant individual goal from Thierry Henry inspired a 5-1 rout at San Siro, but Arsenal failed to reach the knockout stages that year
Juventus 0-3 Man Utd (Feb 2003)
Substitute Ryan Giggs scored twice in the second group stage tie, only for United to be knocked out by Ronaldo’s Real Madrid
Liverpool 3-1 Olympiakos (Dec 2004)
Needing to win by two goals, Steven Gerrard’s late strike catapulted Rafael Benítez’s side through and onto victory in the Istanbul final
Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona (Oct 2006)
Didier Drogba scored the winner but Michael Essien was the star as Chelsea beat the holders before losing to Liverpool in the last four
Tottenham 3-1 Inter (Nov 2010)
The game that announced Gareth Bale’s arrival on the big stage. His brilliant hat-trick saw off the holders
Man City 3-1 Barcelona (Nov 2016)
After several years of trying, City got one over on Barça thanks to two goals from Ilkay Gündogan, after Lionel Messi’s opener
The 3-1 defeat left Zinedine Zidane facing tough questions at a time when his side are eight points behind Barcelona in La Liga. However, the Madrid manager said he was “not worried” by how his team had played and said it would be fairer to praise Spurs.
“The feeling in the dressing room is not good,” he said. “In all aspects of play, they [Spurs] were superior. Any team can win the Champions League and Tottenham are certainly one of them.”