Champions League: Pochettino admits Tottenham’s last-16 hopes are ‘nearly over’

PSV Eindhoven 2 Tottenham 2

Tottenham’s chances of qualifying for the knockout phase of the Champions League are all but over after they were held to a 2-2 draw by PSV Eindhoven.

The result in Holland last night leaves Spurs with just one point from three matches, while Barcelona lead group B with nine points and Inter Milan lie second on six.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The villain in Eindhoven was Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris, who was sent off 11 minutes from time for racing out of his box and fouling Hirving Lozano. Spurs led 2-1 at that stage, thanks to goals from Lucas Moura and Harry Kane, but three minutes from time Luuk de Jong levelled for the hosts.

That goal, allied to Lozano’s first-half effort, denied Tottenham what would have been a precious victory - particularly as Inter were beaten 2-0 in Barcelona.

Lloris not to blame

Instead Spurs face a formidable task if they’re to catch their Italian rivals in the last three group games. Asked if he still believed they could reach the last 16, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino admitted their chances “are nearly over”. He added: “We’ll see what happens now in the game.”

Pochettino refused to apportion blame to Lloris, despite his rush of blood in hunting down Lozano.

“If we need to blame someone it’s ourselves because with all the situations and the circumstances in the game you must win because I think we were much better than them,” reflected the Argentine.

“The situation with Hugo was maybe unfair but that can happen in football. But if you score more goals you are going to win the game. That is why we are so disappointed, not with the decisions but with ourselves because it’s a game you must win.”

No apology needed

Pochettino also revealed that Lloris had not said sorry to his teammates for his action, and nor should he. “He doesn’t need to apologise,” said the manager. “Football is about making mistakes. It was an action in football that happens often and of course sometimes that happens.”

Champions League results and fixtures

Matchday three results

• Group A: Club Brugge 1 Monaco 1; Borussia Dortmund 4 Atletico Madrid 0
• Group B: PSV Eindhoven 2 Tottenham Hotspur 2; Barcelona 2 Inter Milan 0
• Group C: Liverpool 4 Red Star Belgrade 0; Paris Saint-Germain 2 Napoli 2
• Group D: Galatasaray 0 Schalke 0; Lokomotiv Moscow 1 Porto 3
• Group E: AEK Athens 0 Bayern Munich 2; Ajax 1 Benfica 0
• Group F: Shakhtar Donetsk 0 Manchester City 3; Hoffenheim 3 Lyon 3
• Group G: Real Madrid 2 Viktoria Plzen 1; Roma 3 CSKA Moscow 0
• Group H: Young Boys 1 Valencia 1; Manchester United 0 Juventus 1

Matchday four fixtures (8pm unless stated)

Tuesday 6 November

• Group A: Monaco vs. Club Brugge (5.55pm); Atletico Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund
• Group B: Inter Milan vs. Barcelona; Tottenham Hotspur vs. PSV Eindhoven
• Group C: Red Star Belgrade vs. Liverpool (5.55pm); Napoli vs. Paris Saint-Germain
• Group D: Porto vs. Lokomotiv Moscow; Schalke vs. Galatasaray

Wednesday 7 November

• Group E: Benfica vs. Ajax; Bayern Munich vs. AEK Athens
• Group F: Lyon vs. Hoffenheim; Manchester City vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
• Group G: CSKA Moscow vs. Roma (5.55pm); Viktoria Plzen vs. Real Madrid
• Group H: Valencia vs. Young Boys (5.55pm); Juventus vs. Manchester United