Mauricio Pochettino says it was obvious Tottenham were the better side overall in their Champions League loss to Monaco.
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Joao Moutinho will step out in Wembley Stadium on Wednesday night in the red and white of Monaco as the French club takes on Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League. “But to win you need to show more and create more”, said the manager.
“When you compete against Manchester United, City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, we’re talking about the top clubs in the world”. “We need to play and try to beat Monaco. There is nothing to prove”.
The match was played at Wembley due to the capacity of their White Hart Lane stadium being reduced due to redevelopment.
“I think we needed more control in the centre of midfield, we needed to move Dele Alli up the pitch to be more aggressive”.
“We conceded a goal after 16 minutes that, at this level and in football, you can not concede”, Pochettino told BT Sport.
In addition to the change of environment that similarly undermined rivals Arsenal from 1998 to 1999, Spurs will be playing on a bigger pitch.
“However, I’m not sure you can replace the home comforts of a stadium the Tottenham players will be so used to playing at and you can bet that the opposition will be delighted to get a chance to be playing at Wembley”. “Teams that build from the back, like us, have more space, more possibility to play and it’s more hard for the opponent to press you”.
“We need to improve and learn that we can’t concede the goals that we conceded”.
“We were better than Monaco, but to win we need to show more and be more aggressive because we can not concede the goals we conceded”.
But the paperwork for the deal was not submitted to the Premier League in time and the then 25-year-old returned to Portugal before signing for Monaco 12 months later. “I’m excited to play there, so many fans will be there and we have to win this game”. “We’re a good group and we are ambitious and looking forward. It is very important for the club and fantastic news”.
When Spurs played in the 2010-11 Champions League their home form was key to their run to the quarter-finals.
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So it was hoped that the more expansive Wembley turf would allow them to play their natural game.
