Chelsea tactics didn’t surprise me – Tottenham boss

By

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino insisted Chelsea had not surprised him by playing Kurt Zouma in midfield for the Capital One Cup final.

The centre-back was pushed further forward to compensate for the suspended Nemanja Matic, with Blues boss Jose Mourinho suggesting the tactic had caught Tottenham unaware.

But Pochettino denied it was a strategic masterstroke which gave Chelsea the upper hand ahead of their 2-0 victory.

He said: “They didn’t surprise me. We knew they wouldn’t play Cesc [Fabregas] and Ramires before the game.

“We knew they might play Zouma or [Gary] Cahill there, so it wasn’t a surprise for me.

“We stuck to our style and our philosophy and we need to take a lot of positives.

“We have a very young squad – 23-year-old average age on the pitch – and the way we played showed we will play a lot of finals in the next few years.”

Pochettino also believed his side started and finished the game the stronger side but paid the price for allowing John Terry’s opener on the stroke of half-time.

He said: “First half we were better than Chelsea but we were unlucky to concede the goal we did.

“We finished the game stronger than them. In the last 10 minutes we created many chances. If we score we’re in the game, but that is football.”

Follow West London Sport on Twitter
Find us on Facebook