Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino believes that the penalty was a crucial point his side’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.

Referee Phil Dowd gave a spot kick two minutes into the second half after Joe Allen went down when he was tugged back by Eric Dier.

He said: “It is a very soft penalty, I think that is a key moment in the game and after 2-0 down we tried. It is difficult to see but from my point of view it was soft.”

Spurs were far from their best as they lost for the first time this season with goals from Raheem Sterling, Steven Gerrard and Alberto Moreno.

However, Pochettino admitted that his side are still a work in progress after joining the club this summer.

He said: “There were some mistakes in the game; we had a clear chance one on one with Mignolet.

“We are a team still improving and still learning. Liverpool is a very good team and were going for the premier league.

“They have been building a team for more than two years, but that is not an excuse for today, in the key moment during the game, we lost it.”

The future of Roberto Soldado has been assured by Pochettino who stated that he will not be leaving White Hart Lane this summer.

Pochettino also stated that he had not received an offer for Brazilian midfielder Sandro from Queens Park Rangers.

His side will now have an international break to lick their wounds and re-access what went wrong this afternoon.

The result may prompt the Spurs manager to dabble in the transfer window with just over 24 hours left.