Pochettino praises mature Tottenham after Norwich win

Mauricio Pochettino felt his Tottenham side “showed maturity” after contrasting performances in each half of their 3-0 win over Norwich City on Tuesday.

The visitors were dominant in the first half at Carrow Road, with Dele Alli breaking the deadlock after just two minutes when tapping home a rebound inside the penalty area.

Harry Kane doubled their lead from the penalty spot, while he was only denied a second before the break by a post.

The England striker also hit the woodwork again in a second half that saw Tottenham happy to sit back and hit on the counter. The policy paid off in the closing stages, as Kane steered in his second of the night.

“I’m happy. It’s three points for us and we fully deserved the result,” Pochettino told Sky Sports.

“I think the first half was fantastic. I think we deserved to score more goals. In the second half, we showed maturity.

“It is not only about having possession and playing well. Sometimes you need to play as a team and be strong without the ball.”

The result – coupled with Arsenal’s 0-0 draw at home to Southampton – lifts Tottenham above their north London rivals into third place in the Premier League table.

However, Pochettino is refusing to get carried away by any title talk.

“The most important thing now is to be ready for the next game,” he insisted.

“We need to keep improving and keep working very hard. We need to be ready, because the next three points are very important to us.”

Alli was replaced at half time due to feeling unwell, although Pochettino confirmed it was “just a precaution”, with the midfielder expected to be fit to face Watford on Saturday.