LONDON • Mauricio Pochettino remains optimistic his Tottenham side can reach the Champions League last 16, after Harry Kane's late brace earned them a vital 2-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven at Wembley on Tuesday.
Playing their fourth match in eight days, Tottenham dug deep after Luuk de Jong put the Dutch champions in front after just 61 seconds - the quickest goal Spurs have conceded in the competition.
Pochettino's side had 29 goal attempts and 70 per cent of possession but were frustrated until Kane's strikes in the 78th and 89th minutes kept open a route to the knockout stages, however precarious it may be.
Despite their first win in Group B, Tottenham are still more likely to be playing Europa League rather than Champions League football after Christmas - the consequence of late goals conceded in previous matches, a 2-1 loss at Inter and a 2-2 draw at PSV.
They have four points and will need to beat Inter Milan (seven) and most certainly Barcelona (10) to get out of the group, but Pochettino believes his side can manage it.
"We deserved more in Milan (against Inter), we played better than them," he told reporters.
"I am optimistic. If we beat them, the percentage of being in the next stage will be higher.
"Anything can happen. Two games to play. If we are capable of beating Inter, we'll be on seven points (each). Then we are going to go to Barcelona and try to win."
After losing on Oct 29 to Manchester City in the Premier League, Spurs have responded with three straight wins in all competitions with Pochettino shuffling his pack.
It is a sign of the squad's resilience, according to the Argentinian who brought on Erik Lamela, Kieran Trippier and Fernando Llorente late on against PSV.
"The team deserved the victory. It was a massive effort. We played a lot in eight days. Now we need to try to recover for Saturday (at Crystal Palace)," he added.
"The team is growing up. We have the character of never giving up which is so important."
PSV's hopes now look forlorn as they sit bottom with one point. Coach Mark van Bommel refused to be downhearted, though.
"We fought like lions," he told reporters. "After one minute, we got a goal and we tried to defend it until the end... We played four games and three times we've been leading."
REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN
