Manchester United defeated Tottenham Hotspur as they recovered from a poor start to win 2-1 in the FA Cup semifinal on Saturday.
Tottenham got off to a dream start when Dele Alli scored from close range but Alexis Sanchez equalised with a header and Ander Herrera fired United’s winner midway through the second half.
While United can look forward to the prospect of finishing the season with some silverware, Tottenham must pick themselves up after an eighth successive FA Cup semifinal loss.
Spurs have not won a trophy since the 2008 League Cup, and have not lifted the FA Cup for 27 years.
The last major final they reached was the League Cup final in Pochettino’s first season at the club in 2014. They lost 2-0 that day to Mourinho’s Chelsea.
Despite talk of Tottenham possibly having an unfair advantage due to their Wembley familiarity, the 50-50 split of supporters may have jarred the Spurs players.
Pochettino did not criticise any of his players and instead focused on the difficulty of competing with the club’s major rivals.
Standing between United and a record-equalling 13th FA Cup triumph will be Chelsea or Southampton, who play on Sunday. Chelsea recently beat Southampton and will be confident of repeating the feat as they chase a first trophy of the season. The two sides had met in the FA Cup third round in 2012-13.
(With inputs from agencies)