Tottenham Hotspur lost 1-0 at home to Manchester City on Monday night.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has told Sky Sports that he thought his side were about to score when Erik Lamela prepared to shoot against Manchester City – but defended the winger for not hitting the target.
Spurs were in action on Monday night as Premier League champions City made the trip to a battered Wembley Stadium, with the pitch in tatters having hosted the NFL clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars just over 24 hours earlier.
Spurs made a dire start as Kieran Trippier was caught out by Raheem Sterling early on, and he got to the byline before cutting back for Riyad Mahrez to score from close range.
That proved to be the winning goal as City claimed a 1-0 victory, but Spurs had their chances to equalise – and one opportunity stands out from the rest.
Late in the day, Mahrez lost possession to Dele Alli, and the England ace drove forward before laying the ball perfectly into the path of winger Lamela, who was advancing into the box.
With Ederson and the Manchester City goal at his mercy, Lamela sent a left footed shot over the bar, and that ultimately cost Spurs the game when the Argentinian should have found the back of the net.
However, replays showed that the ball took some almighty bobbles off the Wembley turf, and Pochettino defending his compatriot after the final whistle.
Pochettino admitted that he thought Spurs were about to score when Alli laid the ball on to Lamela, but admitted that the bobble of the ball meant Lamela didn’t score, rather than the winger having poor quality in front of goal.
“I saw the ball going towards Lamela and I thought goal,” said Pochettino. “But watching the replay of the action, the ball bounced just before it reached the boot of Lamela and that is why he missed the chance,” he added.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
