Pochettino's risky approach in Barcelona deserves plaudits

Kyle Walker-Peters had only 12 senior minutes this season prior to Tuesday's continental affair, but Tottenham Hotspur left him exposed. The seasoned core of the backline - Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen - jostled to try to get under the set-piece, while left-back Danny Rose was upfield to needlessly dummy a free-kick that was obviously Christian Eriksen's to take. Walker-Peters had only 22-year-old Harry Winks for defensive company.

Barcelona repelled the set-piece. Walker-Peters was knocked off the ball by Ousmane Dembele - 32 days his junior - on the halfway line like a kid having a backyard kickabout with an over-competitive father. Moussa Sissoko's sprint back had already sputtered into a beaten jog by the time Dembele let Winks slide in front of him before he jabbed home. The Frenchman was able to start and finish the counter-attack on his own.

At this stage, few would have envisioned how it ended: Tottenham fans hopping seats in the Camp Nou to embrace fellow supporters knowing Inter were in the final seconds of a disastrous home draw to PSV Eindhoven. A 1-1 draw clinched a round-of-16 berth for Spurs; one point from their opening three matches had risen to eight by the time Group G concluded - a remarkable turnaround. The industrious cameos in Catalonia from goalscorer Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela will be remembered. Eriksen and Dele Alli produced fine individual performances, adding to their growing repute in Spurs folklore.

So many heroes and an overdue, famous European night for Tottenham. But the bravery and near-cataclysmic nature of Mauricio Pochettino's tactics should not be buried under the achievements of his team.

Walker-Peters should have had more than two Premier League starts under his belt by now but Pochettino couldn't do much about his two preferred right-backs - Kieran Trippier and Serge Aurier - being struck down by injury. The rest of the lineup was positive. Spurs came for the win. Winks and Sissoko insulated the back-four; both are able to bring the ball forward using very different skill sets. Eriksen sat behind what often shaped up as a front-three of Alli, Harry Kane, and Heung-Min Son, and the trio seldom dropped to aid the midfield battle.

(Courtesy: DAZN)

Tottenham had already fallen behind to Dembele's seventh-minute opener but panic didn't impinge their belief in Pochettino's approach. Before the play in the above image, Alli (near the middle of the center circle) had actually stepped back to remold an attacking three rather than make himself available for teammates working their way out of their defensive third. The gameplan was to commit numbers and when Spurs did advance, their off-the-ball movement and switching of positions looked capable of stretching Barcelona.

Pochettino used to be questioned for his belated and often ineffectual substitutions, but he's shown on numerous occasions over the past year how much he has improved in that department. Walker-Peters looked rejuvenated when he slid on the penalty spot to block a Philippe Coutinho effort but was sacrificed after just over an hour to bring on Lamela. The Argentinian's aggression and energy were huge and were further complemented when Moura replaced Son. Spurs were second in the group when Moura was introduced but that couldn't be relied upon, as Mauro Icardi's header in Milan moments later attested.

Spurs were suddenly third and risking the ignominy of a parachute jump into the Europa League.

The attacking movement, however, got even better. They pressed with more intensity. Sissoko was now sneaking down the flank from a right-back slot while Winks and Eriksen were creative cogs deeper in the lineup, behind what appeared to be an ever-growing artillery ahead of them. Eleven of Tottenham's 17 shots came in the second stanza and Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde didn't respond with a defensive switch. When Kane set up Lucas for the vital equalizer, it was deserved.

Spurs' pressure was growing even when Lionel Messi was brought on after 63 minutes. Inter fans may bemoan Valverde's rotation of his squad for Tottenham's visit, but the north London club's three showings to conclude the group assignments deserved a knockout berth. Inter's final four games in the quartet - a loss, a draw, another loss, and another draw - certainly didn't.

"I remember after Eindhoven, nobody believed in us. It was mission impossible but (now) we are here," Pochettino said post-match, as reported by the Evening Standard's James Olley.

Tottenham will be huge outsiders to win the Champions League and there are lingering concerns that have been temporarily forgotten. But what Pochettino continues to coax out of his underfunded team is quite remarkable.

At times Tottenham verged on the edge of disaster: Walker-Peters being stranded, having three shunted up front in an already attack-heavy lineup, and the continued additions to the side's ammunition from the bench. But those educated gambles were rewarded. "We stuck with our principles," captain Hugo Lloris told BT Sport, affirming the trust he and his colleagues had in Pochettino's perilous scheme.