Christian Eriksen believes “the old Tottenham” would have collapsed after falling two goals behind to Juventus and he believes our stunning performance comeback demonstrates their progress under Mauricio Pochettino.
We have a place in the Champions League quarter-finals within reach after we came back from two down to snatch a 2-2 draw and a pair of precious away goals from the first leg in Turin on Tuesday.
It started in the worse possible way when Gonzalo Higuain scored twice for Juve in the first nine minutes but the lads rolled up threir sleeves, dug in, and a terrific Harry Kane finish and an Eriksen free-kick salvaged what felt like a victory at the final whistle.
Pochettino first arrived in 2014, to a team that had regularly been thrashed by the big sides, our mental fragility exposed whenever the pressure mounted but Eriksen, who was at his sparkling best at the Allianz Stadium, believes those days are now long gone.
“Of course we are building on every season compared to when I arrived here four or five years ago now,”:Eriksen said.
He added: “The games against the top teams when you are 2-0 down after nine minutes you lose 6-0. That’s the thing we’ve changed with the manager coming in, with the players we have here.Everyone has grown up and they are not going to lie down if they are 2-0 down anyway.
He also added: “Tottenham, compared to what it was when I came to what it is now, is completely different. That’s up to the manager, up to the players and the quality we have in the squad really.”
The article goes on to say that Pochettino’s excellent reputation continues to grow, particularly given us already beaten Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in this year’s competition but Eriksen insists the players are not worried about the future of their manager.
“No, the players are happy with him, the club is very happy with him,”:Eriksen said.”Of course, it’s his decision but I think what’s he’s building here he would like to be part of it. I think that’s what he showed when he signed the new deal, a long-term deal.Of course there will be interest from other clubs because he’s doing really well but hopefully he’ll stay. We don’t really think about that.”
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