Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino slams his 'poor' team as they fall 21 points behind Manchester City following 4-1 defeat on Saturday

  • Mauricio Pochettino says his 'poor' team deserved the 4-1 defeat at Man City
  • Pochettino was unhappy at the way his players conceded the opening goal
  • After Ilkay Gundogan, a small holding midfield player, was unmarked at a corner
  • Defeat left his Spurs side 21 points behind the runaway Premier League leaders

By Joe Bernstein for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

Deflated Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says his 'poor' team deserved the 4-1 defeat at Manchester City that left his side an astonishing 21 points behind the runaway Premier League leaders.

Pochettino was unhappy at the way his players conceded the opening goal after 14 minutes when Ilkay Gundogan, a small holding midfield player, headed unmarked for a corner.

City scored in the second half through Kevin Bruyne and a Raheem Sterling brace before Christian Eriksen scored a meaningless consolation in injury time.

Mauricio Pochettino says his 'poor' Tottenahm team deserved the 4-1 loss at Manchester City

Mauricio Pochettino says his 'poor' Tottenahm team deserved the 4-1 loss at Manchester City

'Manchester City showed why they are the best team in the league so far,' said Pochettino.


'Our performance wasn't how we expect. We were poor. Not only poor, the way we conceded the first goal was a massive mistake by us. If you concede a goal like this early on, come on.

'We need to be calm now, to try and talk and next week try to be better. Of course we need to improve and learn. There is nothing to say, they deserved the victory.'

Tottenham's only fleeting chance came when Harry Kane shot wide with the score still at 1-0. 'Maybe that was a key because we dominated the first 20 minutes of the second half,' added the Spurs manager.

Pochettino was unhappy at the way his players conceded the opening goal to Ilkay Gundogan

Pochettino was unhappy at the way his players conceded the opening goal to Ilkay Gundogan

Defeat has left Spurs an astonishing 21 points behind the runaway Premier League leaders

Defeat has left Spurs an astonishing 21 points behind the runaway Premier League leaders

'You can't say anything positive after a result like that but we have to take something from the experience of playing against a team with a lot of quality.'

Spurs midfielder Dele Alli was lucky to stay on the pitch after following up fouls on Gundogan and Sergio Aguero with a late challenge on Kevin De Bruyne.

Ex-referee Graham Poll said on television Alli should have walked, saying: 'He goes over the ball.' But Pochettino said: 'I don't want to talk about individuals.'

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