Poch explains why he chose Aurier to go up against Salah

Matt Stead

Mauricio Pochettino has explained why he started Serge Aurier on the left-hand side of Tottenham’s defence against Liverpool.

Aurier was used in an unfamiliar left-back role against Liverpool, with Pochettino deploying a 5-3-2 formation at Wembley. 16 Conclusions discussed the tactical switch, among other things.

Spurs ran out comfortable 4-1 winners against their supposed title rivals, with Aurier performing well on the left as opposed to the right.

Mohamed Salah scored Liverpool’s only goal but was otherwise contained by the Tottenham defence.

“That is up to you whether it was forced,” Pochettino said of starting Aurier. “If you play in some ways, it works sometimes.

“Salah is a player who is playing on the right, always going on his left, running.

“Serge is fast and strong, his right, he can play in that position like at PSG.

“We won, we are so happy, the credit is for the players, they played very well.”