Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that some people close to the Tottenham Hotspur camp had told him of their doubts about his team selection for the match away to Real Madrid on Tuesday - saying “what the f**k*? - only to tell him he was a “genius” once the side had pulled off a 1-1 draw against the European champions.

The Spurs boss put out an unexpected line-up in the Bernabeu on Tuesday, lining out with two strikers in Harry Kane and Fernando Llorente, and joked that the performance was a message not to doubt him.

“It was amazing because some people very close to us said, ‘Can we be honest with you?’” Pochettino explained in his press conference ahead of the match with Liverpool on Sunday.

“I said, ‘Yes’. They said, ‘When we saw the starting XI… what the f***? What happened? What is going on in his mind?’

“And then after 10 minutes at the end of the game, they say, ‘Oh, you are a genius’. I say, ‘OK, thank you’.

“It’s too difficult to explain what we want in every single game to try to find. It’s not easy to explain to you or to relate to the fans. It’s about trust. It’s about the feel that the manager and the coaching staff when deciding the starting XI or the way to play is always to try to win.

“Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t work. But I feel the same. After the game if I win or lose, in my decision, I cannot regret it. We try to provide the team or to create the best way to play because we believe we can win in the way we decide to play.

Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Keylor Navas - 7 Made a couple of superb saves from Harry Kane. One in each half Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Achraf Hakimi - 7 Eighteen-year-old full-back almost claimed an opening-goal assist but his cross was headed against the post by Ronaldo early on Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Sergio Ramos - 6 Didn’t have much to do in truth. Marshalled Kane and Llorente well Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Raphael Varane - 6 Put through his own net in the first half but other than that wasn’t overly troubled on the night Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Marcelo - 6 Usually so much more effective going forward but wasn’t at his best tonight Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Casemiro - 6 Provided a perfect cross from which Benzema should’ve scored in the second half but the Frenchman was thwarted by Lloris Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Luka Modric - 6 Technically sublime but didn’t dictate the game as we are so accustomed to seeing him do Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Toni Kroos - 6 Similar to Modric. Didn’t bring his A game Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Isco - 6 Has become a key player for Madrid over the last 18 months but was ineffective tonight Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Karim Benzema - 5 Spurned a routine chance to open the scoring after Ronaldo’s early effort had hit the post and also saw his header saved from just four yards out just after half-time Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Cristiano Ronaldo - 7 Harshly booked after a coming together with Jan Vertonghen but brushed himself off to equalise from the spot a short while later. Was Madrid’s most dangerous attacker Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Hugo Lloris - 7 Made an outstanding save to deny Karim Benzema from point-blank range early in the second half Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Serge Aurier - 6 Gave away a penalty with a challenge that really didn’t need to be made but was solid otherwise and got forward well Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Toby Alderweireld - 6 A born leader and was key to Spurs’ supreme defensive performance Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Davison Sanchez -7 Didn’t put a foot wrong at the back against a frightening front three Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Jan Vertonghen - 6 Didn’t cover himself in glory in first-half altercation with Ronaldo but played well at left-back Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Moussa Sissoko -7 Perhaps his best performance since moving to Tottenham over a year ago. Full of energy and his driving runs were a big part of Spurs’ attacking threat Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Eric Dier - 6 Anchored the midfield well but was barely involved in any other capacity Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Harry Winks - 7 Neat and tidy in the centre of midfield. Didn’t look out of place against the best midfield on the planet Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Christian Eriksen -6 Gave the ball away more often than usual and spurned a good opportunity to give Tottenham the lead when he attempted to beat Navas at his near post Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Fernando Llorente - 7 Was a surprise inclusion but proved to be a good option when Spurs opted for route one and linked up nicely with Kane Real Madrid vs Tottenham player ratings Harry Kane - 7 Played a big part in Tottenham’s opener but spurned a one-on-one to win it in the second half

“That process, always, is with all respect and trying to assess every single player and analyse the opponent and our performance and our form. Then try to win. I accept it. That is part of football.

“Everyone waits to see the shape or the system or the starting XI, and everyone disagrees. It is difficult to be in complete agreement with the manager.

“After, it’s a massive surprise, but not too many people recognise, ‘Oh, I was wrong and the manager was right’. Because always that happens. For me, I understand very well.”

Pochettino is in fact now so comfortable with such decisions that he has opted to collaborate in a book, entitled ‘Brave New World’. It covers a Tottenham season and he hopes it will allow people to understand the circumstances for managers and why certain decisions were taken for a particular game that could not be explained at the time.

“The idea was to try help people understand what happened during one season in your life when you are manager, when you are under stress,” Pochettino explained.

Pochettino was delighted with the performance of his sde in Madrid (Getty)

“The book is important, you must read the first page of my book, you will understand. Don’t take some sentences, you must take in the days, the months, the circumstances we were writing the book in. If you want to put outside the things you can find things to talk about, it’s important how was our mind was, how our mood was, the things that happened, the stress.