But Pochettino feels the upcoming fixture schedule is worse, as his side have to travel long distance to face Qarabag in midweek and then return and prepare for the Chelsea game on Sunday. More ugly scenes took place in Moenchengladbach and Hannover, and at a third-division game when Magdeburg fans stormed the pitch and fought with stewards at SG Sonnenhof Grossaspach. I will be punching myself not to have got a hat-trick, but I am delighted to get the win.
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“Hopefully we have got rid of that label because it is not a nice label to have”, he said. “As soon as possible, we want to get back to England”. The training looked good so we were prepared but we just couldn’t put it on the pitch. Manuel Lanzini netted a stunning consolation for West Ham – but it did little to dampen the mood at the ground. But Spurs began in control and never let up.
Alli headed against the bar after Adrian had thwarted Son and moments later Kane was sent clean through, only to miscue horribly and bobble a left-foot shot well wide. Eriksen, imperious in his creation, picked up a loose clearence on 49, found Kane centrally and the forward drilled home.
Equally casually, he then gave Lanzini possession four minutes later in defence, allowing the midfielder to run into the area and beat Hugo Lloris by finishing high inside the near left post.
The visitors’ frustrations led to niggles.
West Ham came so close to a spectacular equaliser when Kouyate crashed a brilliant overhead kick off the crossbar, although he should have been flagged for offside after Mark Noble’s blocked shot had looped into his path. “Fantastic, fantastic”, Pochettino said.
“I am very pleased with the performance and with the players”.
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino says it’s too early to talk about the title.
“We have a young squad, we need to develop our way to be consistent. It’s hard to guess today what will happen in four, five months”.
His brace means the England global has now hit eight goals in his last five appearances as the Spurs man continues to fire the north Londoners up the Premier League table. Subs not used: Michel Vorm, Kieran Trippier, Andros Townsend, Ben Davies. Right through the side the movement, effort and solidity was impressive.
It is not just in the league where Spurs have prospered, as they are well placed to reach the last 32 in the Europa League after topping Group J.
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It isn’t just his all-action attitude that makes Eric Dier such an influence, as the base upon which Pochettino’s team’s super-structure is built. We have to show the level that we reached here.
