Mauricio Pochettino: 'There is nothing else to do now but put it behind us and put it right next weekend'

Published: 16 March, 2015
by DAN CARRIER

Premier League
MANCHESTER UNITED 3, SPURS 0

TOTTENHAM'S season petered out after crashing out of the race for the top four – thanks to a footballing lesson at Old Trafford.

Louis Van Gaal's Manchester United side stuck three first-half goals past Mauricio Pochettino's young team – leaving Spurs in seventh place with nine games left to go.

Centre-back Eric Dier spoke after the game and highlighted the sense that the side had lost a six-pointer because they'd failed to show up. 

“We're very disappointed,” said the youngster.

“We started badly. There is nothing else to do now but put it behind us and put it right next weekend.”

On nine, Marouane Fellaini burst through the left-hand channel, finding acres of space as Dier and his team-mates were pulled out of position, and slipped a shot across the face of Hugo Lloris's goal to give the home side the lead. 

United doubled their advantage on 18 when Nacer Chadli's awful clearance from a corner allowed Michael Carrick to head home. Pochettino took Andros Townsend after just half an hour and replaced him with Mousa Dembele in the hope of shoring things up centrally, yet it got even worse on 33. A sloppy ball from Nabil Bentaleb across the face of his midfield allowed Wayne Rooney to move forward and score from close range with a pack of Spurs players giving chase. 

The half-time statistics said it all – United, in complete control, managed seven efforts while Spurs had failed to muster one effort for David De Gea in United's goal to deal with. 

Things marginally improved after the break, with Spurs enjoying more possession, but there was always the sense that United knew they had the game won and there was to be no comeback. It took striker Harry Kane until the 89th minute to trouble De Gea, who stopped his low, near-post drive by sitting on it. 

The result leaves Spurs six points off fourth and with some tough games to come. Of the nine remaining games, they still have to entertain Manchester City and Southampton, and also play Leicester and Burnley, who will both be fighting for survival. 

With the season ticking down, it looks like Pochettino's men are now fighting for the dubious honour of another Europa League campaign next term. 

SPURS: Lloris, Dier, Vertonghen, Walker, Rose, Mason (Lamela, 63), Bentaleb, Townsend (Dembele, 29), Chadli (Adebayor, 78), Kane, Eriksen.
Subs: Vorm, Chiriches, Adebayor, Lamela, Dembele, Paulinho.  

SPURS COMMENT by Dan Carrier

POCHETTINO'S reliance on youth this season has been admirable, but with United out to prove something after crashing out of the FA Cup in midweek, this quickly looked like a game for the older heads. 

Hurried errors were responsible for all three goals. The coltish partnership of Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb in the centre has previously provided zip and verve – yet calmer stuff was required, especially after the opener.

At the back, the continuing absence of the experienced Federico Fazio, due to the emergence of Eric Dier, was another weakness. It is Dier's first season in the Premiership, and he struggled.

It's one the head coach will hope to chalk down to experience, and hope his youngsters learn from it.