Tottenham Hotspur had to settle for a draw after throwing away a two-goal lead against Stoke City on Saturday afternoon.
Eric Dier scored the host’s first goal of the season from Christian Eriksen’s corner, before Nacer Chadli added a second on the stroke of half-time.
Just after the hour mark, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino made the bold decision to replace Harry Kane with Erik Lamela but the Argentinian’s gamble failed to pay off as the game turned on it’s head.
Toby Alderweireld brought down substitute Joselu in the box with 12 minutes to go, leaving Marko Arnautovic to convert the spot kick, before Mame Biram Diouf headed home Stephen Ireland’s cross five minutes later to bring things level.
Pochettino described the collapse as disappointing, before saying, “In football, it’s never closed until the final whistle.
“The team played very well for 70 minutes and the penalty changed the game a little bit. We need to be optimistic, look forward and keep working.”
Unsurprisingly, Potters boss Mark Hughes was delighted with his side’s comeback.
“The substitutions helped us, we just started to retain the ball in the final third and started to create chances,” he said.
“If the game had gone on for a little bit longer, who knows we might’ve got greedy and claimed another two points.”
