Mauricio Pochettino has challenged Tottenham to show the same level of desire as Lionel Messi and labelled their defeat to Ajax as “so painful”. Spurs were beaten at home in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final by the Dutch side thanks to Donny van de Beek’s first-half strike. Fellow Premier League side Liverpool went down 3-0 in Barcelona on Wednesday thanks to Messi’s brace and Pochettino wants his players to use the Argentine as an inspiration.
Asked if he believes Tottenham could face Messi’s Barcelona in the Champions League final, Pochettino said: “If we play like him [Messi] for sure we are going to have a chance. “If we play like him without the ball, with the desire he showed yesterday, for sure we are going to have the chance to qualify for the final. If not, no chance. “If we play like we played the first 20 minutes [against Ajax], it’s difficult to have a chance. Ajax weren’t better than us. It’s only in the moments they showed more desire than us that they were better. That is the key for football. “To play Saturday against Bournemouth, we need to show the same desire. If not, it’s difficult to win. Wednesday [against Ajax] is going to be the same. “It’s so painful when in the same semi-final you watch Messi play with the desire and motivation, and say ‘why did we not feel the same?'” 
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