Mauricio Pochettino learned lessons from famous battle to mature as manager

Mauricio Pochettino said Chelsea’s victory at Tottenham on Monday proved he has matured as a manager in the years since his first spell in England.

A frenetic 4-1 win in north London came amid two red cards for the hosts as emotions threatened to spill over in a manner reminiscent of the so-called ‘Battle of Stamford Bridge’, when Pochettino’s Spurs lost their discipline and a two-goal lead to concede the 2015-16 Premier League title.

After that game, which confirmed Leicester as champions, Pochettino was criticised for allowing his players to lose control of the match and let slip the chance of claiming a first league title since 1961.

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Yet on Monday it was his former side whose discipline failed them, with Spurs losing Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie either side of half-time before Chelsea capitalised with a late hat-trick from striker Nicolas Jackson to seal a third straight away win in the league.

Pochettino has previously said he believes he is calmer now than when he was appointed at Southampton in 2013, and that composure was evident amongst his players as they kept their heads on a wild night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“I learned a lot from the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ seven years ago,” he said ahead of his side’s home meeting with Manchester City on Sunday.

“I got criticised a lot after this game. Too many people said it was may fault because I didn’t give or teach the players how to behave and to control emotion in a game like this. I learned a lot.

“What I can say is the type of game (on Monday) is about tactics, it’s about form, it’s about the approach of the game and how you prepare. Also,