Mauricio Pochettino accused journalists of disrespecting his players after Tottenham opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 defeat at Internazionale.

Spurs led through Christian Eriksen and the manager described the performance as having been the best of the season. But there would be a sting in the tail, with Mauro Icardi equalising with a sensational long-range volley after 85 minutes and Matías Vecino stealing victory in stoppage-time with a header following a corner.

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It represented the latest set-piece concession after the lapses in the defeats by Watford and Liverpool, and Pochettino could be further annoyed by Tottenham’s inability to take a clutch of chances at 1-0. Harry Kane had also missed a clear chance at 0-0.

Pochettino lost his cool when he was asked whether the result might have been different had he not rested the key defenders Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld.

“You disrespect the players that tonight showed better qualities than the opponent,” he told his questioner.

“When my decision is to play with 11, you must respect my decision because I am the manager. It’s so painful to hear when some people are not here and you judge in that way.”

The manager cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines at the end, especially as he was convinced it was Spurs’ best display of the campaign.

“It’s so cruel,” Pochettino said. “The team deserved much more and I think that was our best performance since the start of the season. The only way back to winning games is to play in the way we played. It’s not about learning and working on the training ground [on set pieces] – you need luck, too, and the right decision at the right moment.

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“At 1-0, the result is always open and the problem was we didn’t kill the game. Samir Handanovic was fantastic in goal in some situations. Of course, the home fans were unbelievable after the equaliser and they helped their team to win the game. We need to improve with some situations.

“I understand football and I understand tough periods can arrive. After our win at Manchester United, I said: ‘Be careful.’ And afterwards, a tough period arrived, starting at Watford. The most important thing is to be strong and we are strong. We’ve shown tonight we will be the same as in the past.

“We have quality and I started to see good signs the team is coming back. We showed great personality. We controlled Inter Milan in the San Siro, a difficult place. We showed big character and we were unlucky not to keep the result we deserved.”

The defender Serge Aurier said: “I don’t know what the problem is with us defending set pieces and every time you get in the lead, you must stay focused. That has cost us the game.”