Tottenham boss Pochettino rues missed opportunities after Londoners crash out of Champions League with 1-2 defeat to Juventus in last-16 return leg
Tottenham Hotspur players wear a dejected look after their 1-2 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League last-16 second leg in London on Wednesday. Juventus won 4-3 on aggregate. Pic/AFP
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Mauricio Pochettino dismissed as rubbish suggestions Tottenham had been taught a harsh lesson by Juventus following their elimination from the Champions League. The savvy Italians largely resisted Spurs' youth and energy before two goals in four second-half minutes secured a 2-1 victory at Wembley and the 4-3 aggregate advantage that took them into the competition's quarter-finals.
Pochettino's team led at half-time after Son Hueng-min's third goal in two games, but having been fortunate not to concede a penalty for Jan Vertonghen's challenge on Douglas Costa, succumbed to finishes from Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala. Harry Kane's 90th-minute header was also cleared off the line by Andrea Barzagli after it bounced off the post as Juve otherwise absorbed late pressure, but asked if they had been given a tough lesson, the Spurs manager responded: "All that we are going to talk about now is rubbish. In the end, it's win or lose.
"(There was) no lack of experience. No lack of concentration. How many chances did we concede in the first leg and the second leg? We conceded three chances and they scored twice. We created a lot of chances and only scored once. "We created many chances. Sometimes you need some luck to win but I feel very proud. We competed very well against a very good team like Juventus. We dominated in the two games we were much better but in this type of level in three minutes I think the tie was for Juventus. I feel relaxed and happy. Disappointed of course, but the quality and the capacity and performance of the team was very good." Pochettino, 46, was then asked if having previously described himself as a "dreamer", going so close to reaching the quarter-finals and missing out represented a nightmare, and he said: "A nightmare? Why?
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