Tottenham fall 2-1 at Inter: Pochettino’s lack of faith in the squad costs Spurs dearly

Tottenham played well enough to earn all three points at Inter Milan, but Mauricio Pochettino’s conservatism cost his club dearly.

For 80 minutes, Tottenham looked to be headed for a massive win at Inter Milan to open their Champions League campaign. Instead, Spurs will limp home from Italy with zero points in their account. Mauricio Pochettino is the man responsible for snatching defeat from the jaws to victory.

The Argentine gaffer has worked wonders at the club, but he got things horribly wrong in the second half of this match. Just as his club looked like they were poised to kill off the game by scoring a second goal, Pochettino took his foot off the gas. Instead of coasting to victory, Spurs careened off the road for a crushing loss.

The trouble started in the 72nd minute when Erik Lamela was taken off the pitch for Harry Winks. The logic behind the move was clear. Pochettino wanted to add an extra body in the midfield at the expense of an attacking player. Inter were starting to gain a foothold in the midfield but they’d yet to really create a meaningful chance.

The miscalculation was that Lamela was driving much of the Tottenham attack when he was taken off the pitch. Removing him from the game meant only Lucas Moura had the legs to really run at Inter’s fatigued defenders. The Brazilian did a good job of creating chances on his own, but Lamela’s absence made it difficult for him to find the back of the net.

It also must be said that Winks struggled mightily do contribute anything positive during his brief time on the pitch. He was rooted to the ground when Matias Vecino scored on a corner kick to put his team in front. There’s no guarantee that Lamela would have defended it better, but he certainly could not have done any worse.

It was more than just a tactical error from Pochettino though. He clearly gave his squad the message to try to slow things down and bleed the game out. It was quite obvious that was never going to work. Playing to preserve a 1-0 win in a hostile environment for over 20 minutes is a challenge that Tottenham just aren’t up for. Pochettino should have known better than to ask it of his side.

Now Spurs will return home and try to pick up the pieces ahead of a tricky Premier League fixture at Brighton this weekend. The one change Pochettino needs to make is to encourage his squad to attack repeatedly. Anytime Tottenham play not to lose that’s exactly what they’ll end up doing.