Real Madrid victory may have gone to our head, admits Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free

Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Mauricio Pochettino has conceded that Tottenham may have become over-confident following the side’s Champions League victory over Real Madrid last month.

The north Londoners secured qualification for the knockout stages of Europe’s elite competition after beating the 2017 champions 3-1 in an assertive display at Wembley.

But since that memorable night in early November, Tottenham have won just one league game since – a narrow 1-0 over relegation contenders Crystal Palace.

Speaking ahead of Tottenham’s dead-rubber against Apoel Nicosia on Wednesday night, Pochettino admitted that it was possible the result against Real Madrid “changed something in our mind”.

When asked whether his team had become complacent after that win, the Argentine said: “Today all is possible.

“Because when you don't win, all is possible. All is related.

“Maybe, maybe it is possible that (there was) too much confidence. Maybe it is possible that another reason, in that moment after Real Madrid happened and changed something in our mind.

“Or maybe because after playing at a high level, high tempo with massive pressure, the team needs to breathe to bounce back and assimilate. That situation was new for everyone. All the opinions are good and maybe they are all wrong.

“The most important now is to help them to start to perform in the way we did against Madrid and Dortmund and in games like Liverpool when we were fantastic.”

Tottenham host Apoel Nicosia at Wembley on Wednesday evening with their position as Group H winners already secured.

As a result, Pochettino confirmed on Tuesday that star forward Harry Kane will be absent from the fixture alongside Christian Eriksen, Eric Dier, Kieran Trippier and Hugo Lloris.

In their place, the likes of Fernando Llorente, Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Juan Foyth are all expected to feature.