Saturday evening was hugely disappointing for all Tottenham Hotspur fans as we fell to a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League Final.
It was a poorer performance from both sides on the night, and despite ultimately creating more chances than they did, we didn’t make them count and with a seriously flawed penalty going their way seconds into the match, our final effort just wasn’t enough to truly create history.
It’s been an amazing run though given everything we’ve had to deal with this season so whilst disappointment remains, perspective means we have to be proud and we take the positives of reaching the final and even though it wasn’t enough, for me the effort was there, we just lacked that quality in front of the net to make it count.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino had the right attitude at the fulltime whistle, and his approach to the experience of the final was also spot on – the club has to build on this and look to repeat it, then go one step further just like our opposition managed.
The BBC quoted him as saying.
“I feel very proud about their effort, how we fight. We were unlucky, we concede a goal on a penalty. We were fighting, and we played so well in the second half. I feel so proud, a little bit unlucky. To start 1-0 down from the start was tough, we changed our plans but we are very proud of these players and these fans. We can be optimistic. That (penalty) was the circumstance we cannot manage or prepare for. You can never believe you will be 1-0 down after a minute. Mentally it was very tough, it’s about learning and experience, like Liverpool were in this position last year. I am so pleased to manage this group of players, but congratulations to Liverpool. The standards are so high, it wasn’t enough today. It’s a shame. You want to experience this again and repeat it. It is the best game in the world after the World Cup. It’s about trying, believing and building the journey so it happens again as soon as possible.”
All eyes to the summer, but we knew that would be huge anyway based on Pochettino’s earlier words once we returned to our new White Hart Lane Stadium.
Let’s make the experience count.