Tottenham beat Newcastle 1-0 courtesy of a late strike by Son Heung-Min, in a game where chances were few and far between. Newcastle defended deep right from kick off and didn’t give the Spurs players any time or space in the final third.
However, Tottenham kept plugging away and eventually got their reward in the end. This was the third Premier League game in a row that Spurs have won with a goal in the final 10 minutes after similar dramatic winners against Fulham and Watford.
Speaking after the game Pochettino praised the patience that his team showed to break Newcastle down. The Argentine admitted that Spurs found it hard to fashion chances due to how organized the Magpies were and thus had to switch to plan B and play more direct football. The result took Spurs to second in the table ahead of Manchester City who will take on Arsenal today.
Speaking during the post-match press-conference, Pochettino told Football.London, “We dominate the game and had control. We were very patient about the game. Newcastle were very organised, playing so deep and not giving us too much space but the positional game was good.
“We created some chances in the first half, but in the moment you don’t score and break this type of game, always it is going to be difficult in the second half because their belief increases.
“In the second half we conceded a few chances and this always happens on some counters and some action with counter attacks. But the belief was fantastic and we tried to find a different way to play, with Fernando, trying to play more direct and in the end Sonny scored and the players deserve a lot of praise.
“It was a fantastic effort with one day less to recover after Watford. Another massive effort from the squad, the team and I am more than pleased, more than happy, it’s a fantastic result for us to be in a very good position in the table. Only I can feel very happy and proud.”