Tottenham earned a slender first-leg advantage thanks to a clinical strike from South Korea forward Son Heung-min late in the second half against Manchester City on Tuesday.
Sergio Aguero with Drake before the match
Mauricio Pochettino challenged "spirited" Tottenham to finish the job after their 1-0 win over Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals was marred by Harry Kane's potentially season-ending injury.
Pochettino's side earned a slender first-leg advantage thanks to a clinical strike from South Korea forward Son Heung-min late in the second half at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday.
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Much-maligned Tottenham keeper Hugo Lloris also enjoyed a sweet moment of redemption in a troubled campaign when he saved Sergio Aguero's first-half spot-kick.
Pochettino was delighted with Tottenham's display against the Premier League champions, but he insisted the tie was still delicately poised.
"We showed great quality. We were all excited and motivated to play this type of game," he said.
"The energy was good, fantastic, and the penalty save gave us a big lift.
"There are still 90 minutes to play and it's Manchester City. But with the spirit we play, anything is possible."
Tottenham's victory was an unexpected twist after Kane injured his left ankle in a tackle on Fabian Delph early in the second half.
Kane will have tests on the injury on Wednesday, but Tottenham boss Pochettino fears his star striker could miss the rest of the campaign.
"It is very sad and very disappointing. We are going to miss him - maybe for the rest of the season," he said "It is a worry for us. We hope it is not a big issue. But there is not to much time to recover. He twisted his ankle."
City had only themselves to blame for failing to earn an advantage for the second leg in Manchester on April 17.
Having won the League Cup, reached the FA Cup final and kept the destiny of the Premier League title in their own hands, this was City's next hurdle in the race for an unprecedented quadruple.
But City boss Pep Guardiola is adamant it is "almost impossible" to achieve a clean-sweep of all four major trophies.
He might be right on the evidence of a City display that lacked the cutting edge and intensity required to keep Tottenham at bay.
City's first defeat since a January 29 setback at Newcastle is not fatal to their European ambitions, but they will have to improve on this tired effort to stop Tottenham reaching their first European semi-final since 1984.
"Nobody said it would be easy. We have to show what we can do in the next game," Guardiola said.
"We were more in control, the second half we didn't really concede anything.
"It was a good performance but that's the Champions League. We lost, we have the second game and we will see what happens."
Here is how Twitter reacted to Tottenham's 1-0 win, with some users suggesting Sergio Aguero's photo with American popstar Drake to be the reason for Manchester City's loss:
Sometimes, football is funny.#TOTMCI pic.twitter.com/wAay8VsMCA
— Adel (@Adel87901751) April 9, 2019
The drake curse continues #UCL #TOTMCI pic.twitter.com/rHGPtdBzU9
— EddieMerkz (@EddieMerkz) April 9, 2019
Now, does he say ‘he’ll dive every time’? #TOTMCI #Alli and what a dive by the way! I’m sure these Sp*rs players practice diving in training. pic.twitter.com/Y41MrTrHjT
— Sam Marley (@SamMarleyxxx) April 9, 2019
Aguero against premier league teams between 10th and 20th VS
— taha argaz (@taha_argaz) April 9, 2019
Aguero against UCL final rounds teams #TOTMCI pic.twitter.com/tBLzGz8xQv
I Only have one message to Mahrez and Man city fans.
— Frank Ganda (@FrankGanda) April 9, 2019
Regards,
Kane , Son and Tottenham fans#TOTMCI pic.twitter.com/0eUGfaaNv4
How Man city started the game VS how it ended. #TOTMCI pic.twitter.com/UX0QaCxl4u
— kwaanek (@kwaanek) April 10, 2019
Note to self... Stay away from Drake.#UCL #TOTMCI pic.twitter.com/ojcyuQMqW5
— GiveMeSport (@GiveMeSport) April 9, 2019
The curse of Drake continues. Who's next? #TOTMCI pic.twitter.com/0uJJ1ZmrQ6
— FEMI Michael Jnr (@OshoJnr) April 9, 2019
ðÂu00c2u009fÂu00c2u008e¤ ðÂu00c2u009fÂu00c2u0093¸ This 'Drake Curse' is getting well out of hand now...#TOTMCI#MUNBAR pic.twitter.com/DVsUSKfU89
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) April 9, 2019
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