Mauricio Pochettino displayed his grace and sportsmanship in a post-match interview following Chelsea’s hard-fought victory against Tottenham in North London. Despite an early lead by the hosts, events took a turn when Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie received red cards, leaving Chelsea with a numerical advantage, and Cole Palmer equalized with a penalty. Udogie’s dismissal after accumulating two yellow cards further favored Chelsea, and Nicolas Jackson’s late hat-trick sealed the win for the Blues.
Pochettino’s return to face his former club resulted in a victorious outing, but he refrained from gloating. He emphasized the importance of the three points, noting that the win against Tottenham did not hold any extra significance. Pochettino explained, “I am so happy because the points mean a lot to us. We are in a situation where we need to win points. I am so happy because we came back and showed people that we had positivity. For me, the most important thing is the three points. It’s Tottenham, but it’s not more special because of that.”
Pochettino also commended Tottenham’s tactical approach after they were reduced to nine players, acknowledging that Ange Postecoglou’s high defensive line posed challenges for Chelsea, despite their numerical advantage. He pointed out, “We made too many mistakes in possession and Tottenham started the game full of energy. After we conceded, the team started to play and played with more freedom. We didn’t show our quality in the first 10 to 15 minutes of the match that we are supposed to have. The line of the defense was so high and we started to build from the back. We didn’t have the patience to move the ball from one side to another and find the right moment. We ran into spaces at the wrong time and were disappointed at halftime for not exposing the space that Tottenham gave us. We didn’t find the right moment to kill the game because the line of defense was so high. The most important thing for us is the three points.”