Mauricio Pochettino hails his Tottenham players as ‘heroes’ following emphatic win over Man City

Mauricio Pochettino hailed his Tottenham heroes after they knocked Manchester City out of the Champions League on away goals in a classic quarter-final.

Substitute Fernando Llorente put Spurs ahead in the tie after 73 minutes — surviving a dramatic VAR review for handball, the ball going in via his hand and thigh.

Then Raheem Sterling thought he had sent Manchester City through to the semi-finals after completing a hat-trick in stoppage time, only for that to be overturned after Sergio Aguero was adjudged offside in the build-up. 

‘It was unbelievable — the way it finished,’ Pochettino said. ‘I am so happy, so proud. My players are heroes to be here. I am so happy for them, so happy for the fans.

‘In a moment many things happened in your head, the disappointment was massive but they changed the decision. That is why we love football.

‘We’ve shown anything is possible in football, that you have the possibility to beat teams people don’t think you are capable of. That belief, that personality and character. We fight.

‘It’s a massive achievement for us. We are very proud that we can translate that belief and faith. I’m more than proud now they have made history.’

The Spurs manager passionately celebrates with his players following the emphatic result

Pochettino insisted his side showed ‘personality and character’ to knock City out of Europe

Pep Guardiola reiterated his backing of VAR, despite City falling on the wrong side of it at the climax of a breathless second leg.

The City boss did, however, suggest that Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir was not afforded the definitive angle to judge whether Llorente had bundled in the 73rd-minute clincher with his arm.

‘I support VAR, but from one angle Llorente’s goal is handball,’ Guardiola said. ‘I am fine for the fair decisions, the fair football. The referee must be helped.’

Aguero stood in an offside position before Sterling appeared to have completed a sensational hat-trick before the Etihad Stadium was left stunned.

Guardiola added: ‘If he’s offside, he’s offside. In the future and even in the present it will be fair. I’ve seen the action. The referee decided it was offside, so OK. With VAR last season (against Liverpool) it would’ve been completely different.’

Fernando Llorente (left) and Son Heung-min (centre, back) scored in the seven-goal thriller

Guardiola lamented individual mistakes over the two legs. Aguero fluffed a penalty down in the capital and Aymeric Laporte made two huge errors last night.

‘We missed a penalty in the first leg,’ the City boss added. ‘We created an incredible amount of chances today. We reacted well.

‘It’s tough. We were so close. It’s cruel. We have to accept it. It is what it is. It’s a nice game for everyone. We did everything in the second half.

‘Thank you to the fans. An incredible reaction. I’ve never seen the stadium like it was today since I came in Manchester. They know we gave absolutely everything and football is like this, unpredictable.

‘We were honest in the way we played. What we’ve done in these two seasons is incredible. I’m so proud. This club have only made the semi-finals once in their lives.

Pep Guardiola reiterated his backing of VAR, despite it going against City in certain moments

‘We’ve made mistakes and this competition punishes you a lot. Unfortunately it was a bad end for us.’

Christian Eriksen was left counting his lucky stars after seemingly gifting City a late winner, only for his errant backpass to flick off Bernardo Silva before arriving at the offside Aguero’s feet.

‘I must be one of the luckiest guys on the planet tonight,’ Eriksen admitted. ‘I thought it was all over but it was a fun game. Thank God the ref gave offside. It was a rollercoaster, it was goals, goals, goals. We gave them a lot but also got a lot – it was a weird game.’