Mauricio Pochettino accuses Tottenham of lacking ‘passion’

Mauricio Pochettino has criticised Tottenham for lack of passion during tonight’s 2-1 defeat to Monaco at Wembley.

Spurs suffered a disappointing defeat in front of a record crowd as they started their campaign at their temporary European home of Wembley.

Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar both struck in the first half at Wembley on Wednesday to set up victory for Leonardo Jardim’s men.

Toby Alderweireld gave Spurs a lifeline on the stroke of half time but, despite creating a host of opportunities after the break, Pochettino’s side fell to their first defeat of the season.

The Argentine coach was disappointed with his side’s performance and believes more hunger is required: “It’s only the first game but we need to improve and fast,” he told the club’s official website.
“We need to play with more hunger and passion.
“We need to look at ourselves and criticise ourselves because it was our mistakes.”

Pochettino felt Tottenham were the better team, but praised Monaco for their efficiency on the night.
“I think that we all agree that we started well but then we conceded after 15 minutes.

“We cannot concede in that way at this level, in the Premier League , the Champions League. It is difficult to accept how we conceded a goal in this way.

“When you concede like this it is very difficult.
“It is true that we had more chances, our positions, we were better than Monaco but they were more effective.
“Today was an opportunity to give to our fans a good victory and it is a shame for our fans.”

“When you play for Tottenham, it is difficult to accept the way that we conceded the goal today. But not only the first [goal], the second was the same,” he said.

“I think we all agreed about that, and when you concede a goal like this, yes we can speak about many things, but 2-0 down, it was very difficult.

“It is true that we created more chances, more corners, more shots, more possession, more everything. We were better than Monaco, but they were more effective in both areas than us.”

Pochettino who had never lost a European game at home with Tottenham, believes his team actually put in the better performance, although the defeat came around due to a lack of aggression and passion.

He said: “I was speaking with my players at half-time.
“I think we needed more control in the centre of midfield, we needed to move Dele Alli up the pitch to be more aggressive.

“It is not new. I think we were better than Monaco, we need to win games, we need to be more aggressive with the ball.
“We need to play the way we are meant to play. They played in a very comfortable position.

“It is a fantastic opportunity, we have worked hard to be here and we need to be better.
“We need to work more on being aggressive, to show we are hungry on the pitch. In the second half I think we started well, but not well enough.”

Bayer Leverkusen drew 2-2 with CSKA Moscow in the other Group E game, leaving Spurs bottom of the log but can Tottenham can get their Group E campaign back on track when they visit CSKA Moscow on September 27

Mauricio Pochettino has criticised Tottenham of lacking passion during tonight’s 2-1 defeat to Monaco at Wembley.

Spurs suffered a disappointing defeat in front of a record crowd as they started their campaign at their temporary European home of Wembley.

Bernardo Silva and Thomas Lemar both struck in the first half at Wembley on Wednesday to set up victory for Leonardo Jardim’s men.

Toby Alderweireld gave Spurs a lifeline on the stroke of half time but, despite creating a host of opportunities after the break, Pochettino’s side fell to their first defeat of the season.

The Argentine coach was disappointed with his side’s performance and believes more hunger is required: “It’s only the first game but we need to improve and fast,” he told the club’s official website.
“We need to play with more hunger and passion.

“We need to look at ourselves and criticise ourselves because it was our mistakes.”

Pochettino felt Tottenham were the better team, but praised Monaco for their efficiency on the night.
“I think that we all agree that we started well but then we conceded after 15 minutes.

“We cannot concede in that way at this level, in the Premier League , the Champions League. It is difficult to accept how we conceded a goal in this way.

“When you concede like this it is very difficult.
“It is true that we had more chances, our positions, we were better than Monaco but they were more effective.
“Today was an opportunity to give to our fans a good victory and it is a shame for our fans.”

“When you play for Tottenham, it is difficult to accept the way that we conceded the goal today. But not only the first [goal], the second was the same,” he said.

“I think we all agreed about that, and when you concede a goal like this, yes we can speak about many things, but 2-0 down, it was very difficult.

“It is true that we created more chances, more corners, more shots, more possession, more everything. We were better than Monaco, but they were more effective in both areas than us.”

Pochettino who had never lost a European game at home with Tottenham, believes his team actually put in the better performance, although the defeat came around due to a lack of aggression and passion.

He said: “I was speaking with my players at half-time.
“I think we needed more control in the centre of midfield, we needed to move Dele Alli up the pitch to be more aggressive.

“It is not new. I think we were better than Monaco, we need to win games, we need to be more aggressive with the ball.
“We need to play the way we are meant to play. They played in a very comfortable position.

“It is a fantastic opportunity, we have worked hard to be here and we need to be better.
“We need to work more on being aggressive, to show we are hungry on the pitch. In the second half I think we started well, but not well enough.”

Bayer Leverkusen drew 2-2 with CSKA Moscow in the other Group E game, leaving Spurs bottom of the log but can Tottenham can get their Group E campaign back on track when they visit CSKA Moscow on September 27.