Pochettino bemoans penalty call in Liverpool loss

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino felt that his team merited a stoppage-time penalty in the 2-1 loss to Liverpool.

Spurs was second best for long periods at Wembley as Georginio Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino scored either side of half-time, but a goal from substitute Erik Lamela set up a grandstand finale.

And, it might have had the chance to snatch a point from the spot, only for referee Michael Oliver to remain unmoved when Sadio Mane clumsily challenged Son Heung-min.

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"Of course, I think they were better. We competed, we were close and the last action was crazy because it was a penalty," Pochettino told Sky Sports.

"We should be talking in a different way, but Liverpool were better. I am disappointed with the result. We need to keep working and improving. It's only early in the season, we need to improve a lot."

Tottenham has, now, suffered back-to-back defeats, with Watford puncturing the early season optimism that followed a 3-0 win at Manchester United.

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Yet, Pochettino insisted that flaws were also on show at Old Trafford and believes that the heavy workload a number of his first-team stars undertook during the World Cup have taken a toll.

"It is easy to criticise the performance because we lost the game and conceded many chances, but the circumstances were the same when we beat Manchester United," he said.

"It is a lot to analyse and try to fix. I think we are far way in terms of performance. It is early in the season. It is a moment to be calm and clear with the assessment, help the team to improve and be more consistent in our performance."

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Pochettino added: "I am not a person who suffers too much. I try to find the solution. Don't worry for me – we need to be worried for the real things. I am so good, I am so happy."

"We started the season with good results, but we knew the circumstances and the reality after the World Cup were completely different."

"I was relaxed and not worried and today I am relaxed and not worried. My faith in this group of players is 200 per cent, not 100 per cent."