Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has always made it clear his priorities are the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, so the 2-0 loss suffered by a second-string side in Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round trip to Crystal Palace was no surprise.
Spurs still hope to move into their new ￡1 billion (US$1.32 billion) stadium this season, but clearly do not want to be playing there next season without a place among Europe’s elite to entice the fans to fill the 62,00-seater venue.
They are nine points adrift of league leaders Liverpool ahead of tomorrow’s home game with Watford, but perhaps more importantly, have a seven-point gap over fifth-placed Arsenal in the race for the Champions League places.
Photo: AP
They also face a stern test next month against Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund in the round-of-16 of the Champions League and will have to cope without injured England pair Harry Kane and Dele Alli until March.
Much has been made of Tottenham’s failure to win a trophy since the 2008 League Cup, but Pochettino said it would be a mistake to focus solely on the pursuit of silverware.
“People wish we could win some trophies, but being realistic, we are doing so well,” Pochettino said. “To win a title here in England like the FA Cup or Carabao [EFL] Cup is about being lucky, not only about quality in your squad.”
“We are going to create a debate that to win a trophy is going to help the club. I don’t agree with that. That only builds your ego,” added the 46-year-old Argentine, who has yet to win a trophy with Spurs or indeed in his managerial career. “In reality, the most important thing is being consistently in the top four and playing in the Champions League. That is going to help the club to achieve the last step.”
With injuries and fatigue taking their toll, it was an unfamiliar starting XI that took the field at Palace.
Pochettino made seven changes following his side’s EFL Cup semi-final shoot-out defeat at Chelsea on Thursday last week, with both midfield playmaker Christian Eriksen and defensive stalwart Toby Alderweireld given a rest.
Spurs should also be able to call upon Son Heung-min for the clash with Watford at Wembley Stadium as the South Korea forward returns from the Asian Cup.
Palace went ahead through Connor Wickham, before a penalty by Andros Townsend doubled the lead against his old club.
Spurs then spurned a chance to get back into the match when England defender Kieran Trippier missed a penalty before halftime.
Pochettino said this season had been “tough.”
“Now the realistic targets are trying to be in the top four, to try and be close to Manchester City and Liverpool, and reduce the gap. Another is to try to beat Dortmund and be in the next round,” he said. “That will be tough. We are competing against a team who are doing fantastically well in Germany, who are top of the table and have come back off their [winter] holidays. They are all fresh and we are the opposite, but we have to be positive.”
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal would be motivated by criticism ahead of the Clasico, Barcelona assistant coach Marcus Sorg said yesterday. Teenage winger Yamal has been in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “steal” and “complain” during an appearance on a social media stream. Champions Barca face Real Madrid today in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu, looking for a fifth consecutive win over their rivals. “Lamine is a top player and I think [the criticism] will be motivating for him,” Sorg told a news conference. “I hope we all see him tomorrow [give] the best performance.” The 18-year-old Spain
‘A HISTORIC moment’: ‘I think we all need to take a step back and appreciate Leo Messi is playing in Major League Soccer,’ league commissioner Don Garber said Lionel Messi raised the Golden Boot. He then got Inter Miami started with his head. The Argentine opened the scoring with a diving header in the first half, then capped the scoring in the 96th minute as Inter Miami opened the MLS playoffs with a 3-1 win over Nashville SC in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference best-of-three first-round series on Friday night. Messi and Ian Fray had the assists on Tadeo Allende’s second-half tally for Inter Miami, who now get two chances to advance out of the first round for the first time in Messi’s two-and-a-half-year tenure with the team. Game
‘COMPLETE GAME’: ‘To be honest, I’m not sure about the history, but I’m very happy about what I did today,’ Yamamoto said through a translator after the game Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a World Series game from another era. Sandy Koufax had October outings like this, and so did Orel Hershiser, but those types of performances have vanished in modern baseball. Until this 178cm starter from Japan delivered like the aces of old. Yamamoto threw a four-hitter for his second consecutive complete game, the first in the World Series since 2015, and the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Saturday night to tie their best-of-seven matchup at one game apiece. “It’s kind of the throwback,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “When he starts a game, he
Japan’s narrow defeat by Australia showed they can compete with the best teams in the world, coach Eddie Jones said after his side fell to a 19-15 loss yesterday. Australia coach Joe Schmidt led the Wallabies for the first time against Eddie Jones, his predecessor and now Japan coach. During Jones’ second tenure as Australia coach, the Wallabies lost seven of nine tests and were eliminated in group play at the 2023 World Cup. “What I’m super pleased about is that now we [Japan] are a team that stays in the fight,” Jones told reporters. “We kept going, we could have won
RSS