Pochettino outlines what he will not accept from his players

While Tottenham failed to register a single shot on target in the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea, Tottenham’s defense didn’t cover themselves in glory either. In fact, both of Chelsea’s goals came from defensive lapses from Spurs.

The first half was a pretty even affair with both sides failing to create many clear cut chances. Tottenham started the second half as the stronger side but Chelsea opened the scoring against the run of play.

Pedro went past Alderweireld too easily for the first goal and squeezed the ball through Lloris’ legs. Chelsea’s second which was a ridiculous own goal scored by Trippier whose back pass beat his own keeper, has predictably received a lot of attention after the game.

When Pochettino was asked whose mistake the goal was, he insisted that it didn’t matter and that they lost as a team.

The Argentine went on to add that while he can accept his players making mistakes, the one thing he can’t tolerate is if they don’t show the same aggression as their opponents.

Speaking during the pre-match press conference ahead of the North London Derby, Pochettino told Football.London, “For me it’s a collective defeat. I cannot blame one or another.

“Football is about mistakes, I accept the mistakes but what I don’t accept is not having the will to improve or being open to improve, the capacity to fight and match the aggression of the opponent. That is difficult to accept.

“But in the end, football it kills if you make a mistake. You can make a mistake and I’m never upset or disappointed if a player makes a mistake. Football is a game where you make a mistake if you try.

“If you don’t try, if you are sitting like us. I cannot make a mistake if you’re not out there on the pitch. I know very well because I played for 17 years as a professional. It’s so tough.”

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