Coach Pochettino is not surprised that Tottenham plays 0-7-1

Coach Mauricio Pochettino understands why Tottenham played tit for tat despite having two players sent off in their 1-4 loss to Chelsea in round 11 of the Premier League.

After Cristian Romero was sent off in the first half, and Destiny Udogie received a second yellow card in the 55th minute, Tottenham did not retreat deep into defense. The home team continued to raise the offside trap when the score was 1-1. The 0-7-1 formation was deployed many times to close down and limit Chelsea's attacking options. This reckless play helped Tottenham hold on until the 75th minute, before conceding three more goals in the remaining minutes of the match.

Tottenham's nine-man squad against Chelsea. Photo: Joe — Tottenham's nine-man squad against Chelsea. Photo: *Joe*

"When you're top of the table, you can try anything," Chelsea manager Pochettino told Sky Sports after the 4-1 win over Tottenham. "Tottenham are confident and I know they can do that. If we were calmer and more confident, we could be in a different situation and maybe a different position on the scoreboard. We found a lot of space behind their defence and should have scored more than four goals."

Chelsea were one man up from the 33rd minute and two men up from the 55th minute, but only took the lead in the last 15 minutes. A late hat-trick from striker Nicolas Jackson gave coach Pochettino one last bit of joy on the day of his reunion with his old team. Chelsea also forced Tottenham to accept their first defeat in the Premier League this season.

"Their defence was high and we didn't have the patience to play from one side to the other and wait for our chance," added Pochettino. "We were disappointed after the first half when we couldn't take advantage of the space they created. The team went into this match with more doubt than confidence. When you face an unbeaten team like Tottenham, you always have to double your efforts. This young team needs to be confident if they want to go further."

Coach Pochettino was unhappy at times when Chelsea lacked discipline in the match at Tottenham on November 6. Photo: PA

Admitting that his players lacked composure and decisiveness, coach Pochettino said Chelsea deserved to win when they dominated the game after the 15th minute. The match also witnessed more than 10 VAR interventions, bringing the total playing time of the two teams to 110 minutes. The Argentine strategist supports the referees to check carefully, avoiding the case of VAR causing injustice to some clubs like Arsenal or Liverpool in recent rounds.

The win helped Chelsea move up four places to 10th in the table. Pochettino and his team have four tough games in the Premier League, against Man City, Newcastle, Brighton and Man Utd.

Vy Anh

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