Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 7y

Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino: Don't blame Wembley for defeat

LONDON -- Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino said Wembley was not to blame for his side's 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.

Spurs got off to the worst of starts at their temporary home as Marcos Alonso struck twice either side of Michy Batshuayi's own goal to secure victory for the champions.

It was Spurs' fourth straight defeat to their rivals at the national stadium, where they will spend at least one season while their new home is being built.

And it takes their tally to only one win in 10 Wembley matches, a run in which they have failed to keep a clean sheet.

Pochettino told reporters: "I am disappointed because I think we deserved more.

"Our performance was good. I am happy with the performance. We played a good game, created more chances.

"But they were clinical in front of goal. They shot twice and scored twice. For us, it was difficult to score."

Asked whether Spurs were jinxed at Wembley, he said: "It doesn't affect me. I understand that we need to talk, everyone needs to talk... but I think the 'Wembley effect' is not the reason we lost the game.

"The team played really well. It's not fair to blame Wembley. For me, Wembley is one of the best places in the world, one of the best places to play football.

"I think today it was clear -- if you love football and watch football, you will see that Wembley was not the problem. The size of the pitch? We played better and created chances to score.

"But that's football. We have to accept they were more clinical than us in front of goal. The opportunities we created we didn't score.

"But it's only the beginning of the season, a lot of games are left to play. If we play that way, we'll win a lot of games in the future."

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