Mauricio Pochettino says Tottenham Hotspur need help from English football bosses after his side were given one day fewer to prepare for their Champions League last-16 second-leg tie than hosts Borussia Dortmund.
Spurs, who won the home leg 3-0, drew with Arsenal on Saturday, after Dortmund lost to Augsburg on Friday.
“It’s strange that no-one has said anything about that,” said Pochettino.
“It’s impossible that one team has 24 hours more to prepare. It’s massive.”
The Spurs boss continued: “We need help from the FA, we need help from the Premier League.
“I don’t know whose fault it is. I don’t know whether it is the FA, the Premier League, the club or the TV [who] wanted the matches to be on those days.”
Spurs appear to be in control of the tie after beating the Bundesliga leaders at Wembley. Son Heung-min put the Premier League side ahead, with Jan Vertonghen and Fernando Llorente adding late goals.
No side have ever won a Champions League home knockout game 3-0 and then been eliminated.
“We all agree that first of all we need to perform on Tuesday,” said Pochettino. “It is going to be tough, we need to forget the first leg, that must be our approach.
“I think we need to play like always, try to win. We cannot think about the first leg. It’s so important to start the game at a good level and be aggressive. That is key.”
Dortmund captain Marco Reus said: “I believe that we’re capable of achieving the impossible.
“There have already been some matches at this stadium that have made history. We’ll need to go to our limits if we are to get the goals in the right moments.”
Dortmund are in a terrible run of form, with one victory in seven games in all competitions, as they have slipped from runaway Bundesliga leaders to only top Bayern Munich on goal difference.
Boss Lucian Favre said: “We need to sort it out. We mustn’t let in any unnecessary goals. We’ll need a top performance and will have to play intelligently too. Everything’s possible.”
BBC
