Champions League: Pochettino not dropping Lloris for blunder

Mauricio Pochettino refused to castigate Hugo Lloris for a woeful blunder in Tottenham's 2-1 win over Southampton.

Lloris gifted Saints an equaliser in the first half of Saturday's match when he failed to clear under pressure from Danny Ings, who bundled over with a tackle as the goalkeeper attempted a Cruyff turn.

Luckily for the Frenchman, Spurs went on to win despite Serge Aurier's sending-off, meaning they go into Tuesday's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich having ended a run of three matches without a win.

"You cannot change everything for one mistake"

Despite Lloris seemingly becoming increasingly error-prone over the past couple of years, Pochettino remains unconcerned and is adamant such mistakes stem from his tactics.

"Those things happen in football," Pochettino said on Monday. "You cannot change everything for one mistake. There is no point. It's the same as a striker missing a goal or penalty.

"You saw my reaction. Football is about mistakes. I always tell players they can make mistakes, because I know they are trying [their best]."

Spurs began their Champions League campaign with a 2-2 draw at Olympiacos, though they relinquished a 2-0 lead.

"No one believed in us last year - we got to the final"

The visit of Bayern is likely to prove an even trickier challenge, but Pochettino was keen to remind Spurs' detractors they lost their first two Champions League games last season and went on to reach the final.

"We hope to win tomorrow to be in a better situation than last season," he said. "No one believed in us last year - we got to the final.

"You need to be calm in a season. It's not how you start, but how you finish. We want to show the same level as last season.

"But in the last few months it's clear we need to evolve, not just through new ideas. We are using a different system.

"We want to make it more attractive to the player, but I am so happy with the squad. We have good players."