Clinical finishing, or the lack thereof, again kept Tottenham Hotspur from enjoying the fruits of their dominance, and it just may have cost the North Londoners a chance to progress in the Champions League.
[ RECAP: PSV 2-2 Spurs ]
“Our chances of qualifying are nearly over,” said manager Mauricio Pochettino, noting that Barcelona’s result versus Inter Milan could help them.
While nine points are still available to Tottenham, including home dates against PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan, Spurs will have to be nearly perfect to catch Barcelona or Inter (let alone pip PSV to third and a place in the Europa League).
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino sounds exasperated, and understandably so, via The London Evening Standard:
“We dominated the game but need to be so aggressive and score more goals,” Pochettino said. “It’s not so difficult to judge or analyze the game. That is the reality on the pitch. It’s so easy to look for someone to blame like the referee or Hugo.”
Pochettino said, “It’s difficult to deserve to progress” in the Champions League without winning matches like Wednesday’s draw. Spurs out-attempted PSV 24-11 and put nine shots on target, but allowed a late equalizer after Hugo Lloris was shown a red card.
Spurs led 1-0 at Inter with five minutes to play, and 2-1 at PSV with the same time on the clock. Their Premier League loss to Watford was similar.