Tottenham staged an incredible comeback to beat Ajax in the semi-final of the Champions League.
From 3-0 down at half-time in the second leg in Amsterdam to winning 3-2 on the night and going through on away goals, the game was as thrilling for Spurs as it was devastating for Ajax.
However, Mauricio Pochettino is apparently “really” not happy with comments made by Kieran Trippier after the Ajax game, according to Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold – the defender said it was striker Harry Kane who motivated the side and lit the spark for the incredible second-half comeback.
Gold sent a tweet following Poch’s pre-match press conference on Friday that said, “Poch really didn’t seem to be happy with Kieran Trippier’s claims about Harry Kane playing a big part at half-time on Wednesday.”
As quoted in Football.London, Pochettino said it was actually the captain Hugo Lloris who motivated the side.
“In the end who lifted them before they went on the pitch was our captain, Hugo Lloris,” Pochettino said. “I remember the words of Hugo Lloris as I was leaving the dressing room. He was shouting, ‘We are close, we need to score one goal more, never give up and try because the moment we score we’re going to be in the tie… It’s always our captain who talks after me. Hugo was brilliant.’
“I don’t remember Harry in the dressing room. We give five minutes to the masseur, physio, doctor and sports science. When I arrived, I talked and showed some clips. I think it was the most relaxed halftime in the last six months.”
Poch really didn't seem to be happy with Kieran Trippier's claims about Harry Kane playing a big part at half-time on Wednesday. https://t.co/OKeDczbwYo
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) May 10, 2019
OPINION
There’s etiquette that what goes on in the dressing room at half-time stays there. And for good reason. Nobody wants their authority undermined and it seems like Pochettino is not at all happy with Trippier’s comments post Ajax. This isn’t some weird power trip by him either, by the looks of it. He was more keen to point out that it was Hugo Lloris who motivated the side and that’s his job as club captain. It wouldn’t have been good for Lloris if he spoke after Pochettino and Trippier gave all the credit to Harry Kane. Pochettino said that Kane was there and his presence might have transmitted confidence to the team but he was quick to point out that Kane didn’t give a talk, or at least he didn’t remember that happening. Trippier hasn’t had a good season for Tottenham, didn’t have a good first-half against Ajax and was only marginally better going forward in the second-half. He can’t afford to be in Poch’s bad books at the moment and it will be interesting to see if this has any impact on who plays in the final game of the season against Everton on Sunday.