Tottenham Hotspur suffered a heartbreaking 2-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool in the final of the Champions League on Saturday night.
The North London giants were a goal behind less than a minute into the game after Mohamed Salah converted from the penalty spot.
Moussa Sissoko handled the ball in his own box after just 22 seconds of action, and while Spurs tried to battle back, they were toothless in attack and eventually succumbed to another goal – an 87th-minute strike from Divock Origi.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to start Harry Kane ahead of semifinals hero Lucas Moura backfired as the English striker failed to make any impact.
The Brazilian forward came on in the 66th minute, but it was too little, too late, and former Liverpool player Don Hutchison has blasted Pochettino for giving in to the pressure of starting Kane.
Massive error from Poch last night,not starting Lucas M.
Poch caved into starting H Kane. pic.twitter.com/qOSNt6tMqf
— Don Hutchison (@donhutch4) June 2, 2019
Moura’s late equalizer against Barcelona ensured Tottenham progressed to the last-16, while his hat-trick against Ajax handed them a berth in the final.
The Brazil international would have been disappointed to start against Liverpool on the bench.
Kane – who had been out of action since the first-leg of the quarterfinals against Manchester City – clearly lacked match fitness and rhythm despite his best efforts, and the Argentine manager will now most likely be ruing his decision to start him ahead of Moura.