Mauricio Pochettino has revealed Tottenham Hotspur started tracking Dele Alli after a scout watched him impress in MK Dons’ humiliation of Premier League giants Manchester United in 2014.
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Dortmund will host Spurs in the first leg of their tie, while Leverkusen travel to the Spanish side for their first leg. The games will be played on March 10 and March 17.
“I think it was great”, Pochettino said. “You can’t go into a game turning up for numbers, it’s important we try to get something out of it and the performance has to be right”.
Playing on a Thursday before an important league game is tough and Pochettino rested key players on thursday.
The Belgian was withdrawn at half-time of the FA Cup defeat by Crystal Palace last Sunday with a groin injury and is a major doubt for next weekend’s north London derby against Arsenal.
“The competition is done for now and we need to be ready for Sunday”.
Spurs continue to boast the best defence in the Premier League and the best goal difference, despite having the youngest squad in the top flight.
“We expect and hope he will be available on Sunday [to face Swansea]”, he said in his pre-match press conference this week, according to BBC Sports. “We need to make sure the players recover and feel good for the next game”.
And Mason admits that the closing stages of the season does become “mentally and physically tiring”, but vowed to give it his all in their title challenge. “Agree or not, we want to win the next game and take the three points”.
Only once in the Premier League era has Tottenham qualified for the Champions League, and it managed to reach the quarterfinals in 2011 by beating AC Milan, 1-0, on aggregate prior to a 5-0 hammering inflicted by Real Madrid. ‘I don’t think there is electric pace in it but it’s the speed of movement of the passing which is bringing such success’.
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Pochettino, very much the inspirational architect of Spurs success, revealed that he can never really switch off as he pursues the possibility of a coveted Champions League place next season. Tonight’s last 32 clash will be the first game in any competition that Tottenham have played without their leading scorer in the squad.
