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Mauricio Pochettino has said that he enjoyed the way his Chelsea players handled the emotional pressure of playing against a big side like Tottenham earlier in the week.
The Blues responded superbly to going a goal down early against Spurs on Monday by winning the match 4-1. The hosts also had two of their players sent off in the emotionally intense clash, but Pochettino’s side finished with all 11 of their own men.
“That type of game, it’s about the tactics, the form, the approach of the game, how you prepare the game, about many things, and also it’s about controlling the emotions,” the gaffer said on Friday.
“One thing I need to say that my players managed really well was control of the emotion.
“A lot of that is down to the players. For the coach it’s always difficult to control the emotion on the pitch from the outside. I’ve learned that it’s really important for the players, how they stay calm in tough moments, to force the other team to make the mistakes and then to win the game.
“When we conceded the first goal it was a big hit for us, we were in shock a little bit and provided them with too many opportunities to play and create chances. After this moment we started to control the game. We then played very well and we created chances, we forced them into making mistakes and I think we deserved to win.”