Christian Eriksen says Tottenham’s refusal to lie down helped them secure a crucial win at Stoke City on Saturday.
After a relatively even first first half, Tottenham took the lead after the break when Eriksen latched onto Dele Alli’s pass and slotted the ball into the bottom corner.
A second Hugo Lloris mistake in the space of a week gifted the hosts an equaliser – the Frenchman’s clearance was charged down by Mame Biram Diouf, who made no mistake with an open goal at his mercy.
Eriksen restored Spurs’ advantage when his free-kick delivery went all the way in, although Harry Kane will tell you it was his goal.
Tottenham might have folded in the past after Stoke’s equaliser, particularly because the Potters are fighting for survival while Spurs’ place in the top four is reasonably safe.
But Mauricio Pochettino’s side held on to take home all three points, and Eriksen praised the team’s mentality after the game.
“It was a completely different game to Chelsea,” Eriksen told the club’s official website.
“We didn’t have this game under control, it was very open and a bit like basketball, back and forth, if you lost the ball you ended up in your goal (area) and the same the other way.
“People know by now that we don’t lie down and when we scored we all felt we could take it on, we had the chances to score more but the last pass maybe wasn’t good enough and we made a few mistakes which gave them chances and that’s what kept them in the game.”
“We go into this period of the season feeling very confident, getting the wins we need and we want so the confidence keeps getting higher.
“We’ve said before, we go into every game with the mentality of ‘we are going to win today, no matter what’ and we take that with us.”
Tottenham’s mentality was questioned after last month’s Champions League exit at the hands of Juventus, but their performances and results since then have been admirable to say the least.
Spurs still have the chance to win a trophy this season if they can get past Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final later this month.
