There were a number of question marks over the Tottenham team going into the Champions League final against Liverpool on Saturday.
Would Harry Kane start? How long would he play for? Was he fit enough? Would Winks play a part? Was Vertonghen okay to start the match? Would Moura be dropped after his semi-final heroics?
Pochettino ended up playing Harry Kane for the full 90 minutes, dropping Moura to the bench before giving the Brazilian 30 minutes in the second half at the expense of Winks.
Unfortunately, Kane had no effect on the game whatsoever, barely touching the ball, and failing to carve out any clear-cut chances.
With Moura and Llorente performing so well in the competition in Kane’s absence, it seemed strange that Pochettino was so adamant to stick with the England striker, despite all his time out.
Ex-Spurs man Jamie O’Hara has now hit out at the Spurs boss after his choices in the final.
O’Hara said (Final Word on TalkSPORT – 02/06/2019 5:30 pm): “I was really disappointed with Pochettino [against Liverpool], not going to lie. He brought Moura on what the 65th minute? For me, he should have started the game. I have made that clear and he should have come on at half-time.
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“Klopp made some really good changes. He brought on Milner because they kept giving the ball away. He shored it up and Origi came on and scored. His tactical approach to the game was brilliant.
“Pochettino, I think last night let himself down because he brought Llorente on at the 82nd minute when we were getting in the wide areas in the 70th minute, getting the ball into the box and nobody was there to head it into the net. Tactically, I think he got it so wrong last night.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
I was not against starting Kane in the final if he was fit enough. It made more sense to have Moura’s pace coming off the bench when legs were tired. However, I did not agree with Poch leaving it so long to make changes when it clearly wasn’t working. Llorente and Moura should have both been given 40 minutes or so, with Winks and Kane making way. Liverpool’s right-back Alexander-Arnold struggled all night in the air, and sticking the big Spaniard on him could have given Spurs some joy, in my opinion.
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