Mauricio Pochettino has spoken out in support of Kyle Walker-Peters following the young defender’s mistake against Barcelona on Tuesday night.
The 21-year-old was caught in possession early on at the Camp Nou, allowing Ousmane Dembele in to score an opener for the hosts in an eventual 1-1 draw.
Speaking ahead of his side’s clash with Burnley at the weekend, however, Pochettino was quick to emphasise the positives from the full-back’s performance.
As quoted by Football London, he said: “For me his performance was very good, very good. For me I thought he was fantastic.
“Of course a little bit unlucky in the situation that after we conceded the goal, like other players who have made a mistake. Only you conceded in that situation and in another situation we didn’t.
“If we analyse the game and you judge him I think he was fantastic.
“To make that debut in the Champions League in Barcelona showed he had quality and character to cope with that pressure.”
OPINION
The vocal support of his manager is exactly what Kyle Walker-Peters needs right now. On the whole he played a decent part in a very good Spurs performance against one of the best sides in Europe on Tuesday night, and he should be immensely proud of that. It’s a real shame that his UCL debut was marred by such an unfortunate error, but it will be a huge consolation to him that it didn’t cost his team a spot in the knockout rounds. Everybody makes mistakes, and if the young full-back was chastised for a single mishap it could damage a reputation he hasn’t even had a chance to build yet. Pochettino, as is so often the case, has handled this brilliantly, recognised the importance of supporting a promising player instead of getting on his back after a momentary lapse in concentration, and will make him feel stronger and more appreciated as a result.