Tottenham vs Inter Milan: Mauricio Pochettino says Christian Eriksen started on bench because of fitness

Spurs were 21 minutes away from going out of the competition when Eriksen was finally brought on to score after 80 minutes

Miguel Delaney
Wembley Stadium
Wednesday 28 November 2018 23:57 GMT
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Christian Eriksen's late winner handed Spurs hope of a historic finale in Barcelona
Christian Eriksen's late winner handed Spurs hope of a historic finale in Barcelona

Mauricio Pochettino said the decision to start Christian Eriksen on the bench was about fitness - of the squad as much as the player - as the Dane came off the bench to score a crucial winner in the 1-0 Champions League victory over Internazionale.

Spurs were 21 minutes away from going out of the competition when Eriksen was finally brought on to score after 80 minutes. While there have been suggestions the playmaker isn’t yet fully fit after his recent injury and needs to be managed, Pochettino didn’t go down that direction when asked why neither Eriksen nor Son started but maintained his side fully deserved the victory.

Pochettino was all smiles after the Dane scored a spectacular goal for Spurs

“I cannot play with 13 players,” the Tottenham boss responded. “One thing I don't like in football is that rule. Maybe we need to change to rolling subs, like basketball. We're going to play 12 games in 40 days – every three days. There's no player – maybe the keeper – who can play in the 12 games. The most important thing is to avoid risk, mix the team with different players. After four years at Tottenham, I'm always fighting with the same question. For me, it's about the collective. We have 24-25 players in the squad and you need to give the possibility for all to play.

"The players understand we need to make decisions. If we win, we're right. If we lose we're wrong. I'd like to change that mentality in football - 'why play one or another?' We, the coaches and the managers, spend 12 hours every day with the players and of course we're not always going to be right and we accept opinions. But we take the best decisions for the team and the players.

“I think the performance was very good, we fully deserved the victory. We scored at the end but we beat a very good team. Inter showed a great level, a team that's so difficult to beat. The players deserve the credit, the performance was very good. We dominated, created the best chances and of course now we're in a position that depends on us. If we can win at Barca, we're going to go through. It'll be so difficult and we need to focus on Sunday – another derby against Arsenal. We cannot stop. We need to be humble, keep improving. But we're happy. Chelsea and now Inter - massive games. And now we're going to play another game we must win.”

Eriksen celebrates after scoring the winner at Wembley

Spurs’ result in Barcelona now needs to match whatever Inter do against PSV Eindhoven on the last match, although Pochettino was confident his side can get a victory in Camp Nou.

“All is possible. We have big respect for Barcelona, one of the best teams in Europe. Of course, they have unbelievable players and it'll be so tough. We have our belief and faith we can win. We only need to show again a good level to compete at our best. To arrive at Barcelona and compete, we need to have fresh legs, fresh minds, no injuries. We need to rotate the squad - the demands of the Premier League are so tough. We're playing Champions League and the cup against Arsenal. Every three days playing games is tough - so tough for our players. They're not going to have a day off until January.

“I expect they'll play with the best players [even though they have qualified] but today I don't know how they'll prepare the game. We need to think about us, prepare for the game in the best way, and try to believe we can win. What Barca do is not in our hands. But of course in Champions League, no one is going to give a present and not care about the result. It's going to be competitive but of course they're qualified in first with 13 points. Us and Inter can only arrive with 10 points. All is possible. Now we need to focus on Arsenal on Sunday, a massive game for us.”

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