Mauricio Pochettino dismisses Wembley concers and insists Tottenham were better than Chelsea despite loss

The Argentine believes his side deserved more after their first game at their temporary home

Pochettino believes it is only a matter of time before Wembley feels like home (Getty)

Mauricio Pochettino insisted that Tottenham Hotspur’s lack of cutting edge was the sole reason for their 2-1 defeat to Chelsea and not anything to do with Wembley, as he took solace from a “good performance”.

Spurs lost their first league game at their temporary home as White Hart Lane was refurbished, after Marcos Alonso scored his second of the game three minutes from the end to ensure their spell at the ground opened with an agonising defeat.

Pochettino instantly dismissed questions about a supposed complex that Tottenham have with Wembley, although accepted that it would be an issue until the win there.

“It doesn't affect me,” the Spurs boss said. “But 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.

“Please. We need to stop [discussing this]. I think today it was clear: if you love football and watch football, and want to watch the game again, 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 that's football. It's only the beginning of the season, a lot of games to play. If we play that way, we'll win a lot of games in the future.”

Pochettino felt his side deserved more from a match that the dominated, having watched them miss a series of chances.

“Frustrated, no? I am disappointed because I think we deserved more. Our performance was good. I think I am happy with the performance of the team. We played a good game, created the more chances. But they were clinical in front of goal. They shot twice and scored twice. For us, it was difficult to score.”

The greater worry for Spurs is a certain bluntness as their only goal came from a Michy Batshuayi own goal. The game conformed to the same pattern as the 4-2 defeat FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea, with Pochettino’s side dominating but not doing much before getting caught.

“I think you always need to analyse and try to change things, and try to alter them whether they are working or not,” Pochettino said. “But today was not about the tactics. We were much better than Chelsea. It was very clear their idea: to try and contain us and play on the counter, with Morata and Willian in front.

“I am very happy. I think we were a little bit unlucky. If you have sometimes this percentage of luck, it can be difficult to win. But I am only disappointed. I'm not sad or frustrated. I'm happy to lose in that way. We'll keep working and try and prepare the team for Burnley next week.”