Pochettino hails ‘fantastic’ Spurs after 4-0 rout of Watford
Tottenham boss delights at his team’s swaggering display at White Hart Lane as they narrow gap to four points behind league leaders Chelsea before the Blues play Bournemouth
.png?itok=arIb17P0)
Manager Mauricio Pochettino saluted “fantastic” Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-0 rout of Watford as his title chasers increased the pressure on English Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Son Heung-min, who netted twice, were Tottenham’s goalscorers at White Hart Lane and Pochettino was delighted with the swaggering display.
Asked what most impressed him, the Tottenham manager said: “Wow. Many things. We played really well, with a very good energy and very clear in the way that we tried to beat Watford.
“The team deserve full credit because the energy and the way they played was fantastic – 4-0 but we deserved some more goals. I’m very pleased and very proud of that performance.”
Having trailed the leaders by 10 points recently, Tottenham were only four points behind Chelsea before the Blues’ game at Bournemouth later.
Pochettino believes Tottenham will be able to keep the pressure on Chelsea in their remaining seven matches and the Argentine is hoping Antonio Conte’s team stumble in the final furlong.
“It’s important that we compete and are able to win games,” he said.
“We’re second and the gap now is four but Chelsea have one game more to play. We try to win and be ready for Chelsea.”
Watford manager Walter Mazzarri said: “We started really well and were playing at the same level as Tottenham, who are a phenomenal side. But it was really difficult after the three goals, that cut our legs.
“We had players who were tired from playing many games, it was a pity. But taking everything into consideration we are happy, and we have to look forward.
“We now have seven finals to play, and we are looking forward to building on this next year.”
Tottenham’s next Premier League match is a home clash against Bournemouth next Saturday while Watford host relegation-threatened Swansea City.
Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp was grinning from ear to ear after watching his side come back from one goal down to beat Stoke 2-1.
Jonathan Walters had put Stoke 1-0 in front but Liverpool hit back in the second half with two quick-fire goals from Philippe Coutinho (70) and Roberto Firmino (72) inside two minutes
Manchester City were also victorious, defeating Hull 3-1 with goals from Sergio Aguero and Fabian Delph after Ahmed Elmohamady put the ball into his own net in the 31st minute. Hull’s Andrea Ranocchia scored a consolation goal in the last five minutes of the game.
In other games, Middlesbrough drew goalless with Burnley 0-0, Southampton edged West Brom 1-0 thanks to Jordy Clasie’s 25th minute winner, while West Ham had Cheikhou Koyate to thank after the Senegalese midfielder scored the winner in a 1-0 win over Swansea to end a five-game losing run for the Hammers, who boosted their Premier League survival hopes.
