Mauricio reacts to Roma victory

Mauricio Pochettino hailed a ‘fantastic’ performance as we ran out 4-1 winners over AS Roma in our first International Champions Cup match in the United States on Wednesday night.

We fell behind in the early minutes at the SDCCU Stadium as Roma striker Patrik Schick slotted past Michel Vorm but, thanks to some sharp finishing from Fernando Llorente and Lucas Moura, we stormed to victory in San Diego.

The match also provided Christian Eriksen, Davinson Sánchez and Heung-Min Son with some pre-season game time following their participation at the World Cup.

Mauricio was delighted with the performance of the team, but was quick to point out that the result isn’t everything at this stage of pre-season.

“Tonight was fantastic for our players,” he said. “We competed like a team, we played football going forward and sometimes when they pushed in the second half, we had to defend.

“(We had) many things that we had to settle and to work hard to prepare the team and ourselves for the competition but I don’t think we can assess the game like a Premier League game or a similar competition. It’s a pre-season game.

“Of course the result is important because it provides you with a bit of confidence and trust in how you’re working but I think it was most important to beat the team and compete in the way we competed.”

Mauricio went on to make it clear that while results will be of interest during our tour of the United States, it will be the players’ conditioning and performances that he’ll be keeping a closer eye on.

“We’re looking for many things, many things,” he said. “The end result (is important) but for me and us, pre-season is for competing in the best way. Of course, working hard on the physical condition, tactical condition and psychological condition is so important. I think there are many, many positive things to take (from the game) for the future.”

With many members of the squad still away following the conclusion of the World Cup in Russia, spaces in and around the team have opened up for some of our aspiring youngsters. Wednesday night’s game saw central midfielders Luke Amos, George Marsh and Oliver Skipp get the chance to show their quality against Roma, a chance which Mauricio felt was very important for their development.

“It is important (for the youngsters to get their chance),” said the manager.

“We are missing a lot of players because they were involved with the World Cup and that opens the door for the possibility of younger players to have the place to show their quality. It gives them the experience to play against players of a team like Roma. For that type of player, it is an amazing experience and they can only improve after that game.”