Mauricio Pochettino: We showed patience, maturity and we fully deserved the win

Cesc Fabregas has provided 11 league assists against Tottenham Hotspur; five more than against any other Premier League opponent.

The Tottenham manager sprang a surprise by picking England striker Harry Kane in a strong starting line-up against Group J minnows Qarabag in Baku, despite facing Chelsea less than 72 hours later.

“It’s never easy but we’re happy because we showed patience, maturity and we fully deserved the win”.

“But if you ask me who’s going to finish the season top scorer I still say Sergio Aguero”. His link-up play is better, he works harder for his team-mates and he can pick a pass. Some players are great players, but they don’t have that football brain.

The Argentine trainer has made real strides in the Premier League over recent years, firstly building the structure for Southampton to maintain their top0flight status.

We face arguably our biggest game of the season against struggling Chelsea: a team whose difficulties have gifted us a real opportunity to get back into the top four.

Spurs opened the season with a 1-0 loss at Manchester United, but have since embarked on a 13-game unbeaten run – drawing with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea and beating the likes of Manchester City and West Ham. “The confidence is sky-high at the moment and we feel we can take on anyone”.

Kane has now scored nine goals in his last six matches, and defender Jan Vertonghen said: “He’s doing very well”.

And, after Alli turned Toby Alderweireld’s delivery onto the post, Pochettino’s men were rewarded for their endeavour through Kane’s victor.

“We’ve pretty much outrun most teams this season which has been a vital part of our game”. We will make sure we will arrive in a good condition to play Chelsea.

Kick-off at White Hart Lane on Sunday is at 12pm.

Mourinho said: “I am more than happy with the performance”.

“We need to think, too, that a hard summer is coming with the European Championships and to manage in a good way, assess after every game to keep them fit and avoid injuries too”.

“This is a problem we have had in the last few weeks, the global players play a lot; Kane, (Dele) Alli, Walker, (Eric) Dier”.