Pochettino lost for words as Brighton compound miserable week for Spurs

Brighton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted he does not have the words to console disheartened players and fans after Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Brighton compounded a miserable week for Spurs.

Four days on from a 7-2 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Pochettino was looking for a positive reaction.

Instead, Spurs looked like a side devoid of confidence after getting off to the worst possible start when captain Hugo Lloris gifted Brighton the opener and injured himself in the process.

Neal Maupay took advantage of Lloris’s fumble to head the hosts in front before 19-year-old Aaron Connolly scored twice for the Seagulls on his first Premier League start.

“We have to keep going. I have to say thank you for the fans. I feel sorry for them, it is massive effort to come and support us,” said Pochettino.

“Now you cannot find any words to console them and our players because I think we are living a tough moment.”

Last season’s Champions League finalists have won just three of their opening 11 games of the campaign and five of their last 19 dating back to when these sides last met in April.

While Pochettino could justifiably claim Bayern’s ruthlessness in midweek meant the scoreline was not a true reflection of his side’s performance, there was no excuse for being thoroughly outplayed by a Brighton side that had not won in six league games.

“We’ve been playing quite well, but while you don’t get results you always need that three points just to give you some confidence,” said Brighton boss Graham Potter.

“We attacked well, we defended well, we reacted when we lost the ball, we did everything we wanted to do. The personality on the pitch was really good.”

Tottenham were on the back foot from the off when injury was added to insult for Lloris.

The Spurs skipper dropped a simple cross into the box and as he fell backwards and landed awkwardly, Maupay stooped to head into an empty net.

Lloris was given oxygen and morphine before being taken to hospital and now seems certain to miss France’s upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Iceland and Turkey.

“He’s in the hospital at the moment, the club is going to communicate (the severity of the injury) because I think he suffered a big problem in his arm,” added Pochettino.

– ‘Emotional impact’ –

from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/31KscM1