Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is confident he will not repeat Ron Atkinson’s Mr Bean-esque gaffe of standing in the wrong dugout on his return to Tottenham.
‘Big Ron’ unwittingly provided entertainment at the City Ground in 1999 when he mistakenly took his place in front of the away team’s bench in his first match since being appointed Nottingham Forest manager.
Pochettino was asked about that famous blunder ahead of going back to Spurs on Monday evening but initially confused veteran boss Atkinson with near-namesake Rowan Atkinson, creator of comedy character Mr Bean.
Following the brief misunderstanding, the Argentinian, who managed Tottenham between 2014 and 2019, insisted he will not make a similar error as he helped design the layout of his former club’s stadium.
“Ah, Mr Bean? Ron Atkinson is the actor?”, Pochettino replied to the original question, before the mix-up was explained.
“Ah, OK, OK – I was thinking the actor. My wife will kill me! She will say, ‘I told you, remember that is the name’.
“No (I will not make the same mistake). I know very well the away dugout. I know very well because I designed where it was, I was there with the architect.
“On the right is the local (home) and the away is on the left.”
Pochettino is preparing for a special occasion on his first reunion with Tottenham since being sacked four years ago.
He holds fond memories of his spell with the north London club, which included reaching the Champions League final just months before his dismissal.
Despite being desperate for victory, the 51-year-old rejected any notion of seeking revenge in response to the nature of his departure.
Mid-table Chelsea are in great need of points to kickstart their season following just three Premier League wins from 10 games, while unbeaten Tottenham are among the early pacesetters.
“I want to win,” said Pochettino, who arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer. “I want to beat them.
“But when I play with my kids, I want to beat them, or my dad, or my brothers, or my friends – I try to kill them!
“I want to win because we are competitive, I am competitive.
“It’s not a special thing. I don’t want to go there and (people) think it’s a revenge. For what?
“For me, it’s going to be important because we need to win, Chelsea need to win because we need the points.
“But not because it’s special because it’s against Tottenham.”
Nuno encouraged by Forest's attitude and commitment, despite Man City defeat
Nuno Espirito Santo believes Nottingham Forest will "achieve what we want" by replicating the attitude demonstrated during their defeat by Manchester City.
Forest went down 2-0 against their title-chasing opponents at the City Ground, and remain just a point clear of the relegation zone with three games remaining.
Despite the defeat, the hosts produced a spirited performance against Pep Guardiola's side, while registering 14 shots on goal compared to 11 from the Citizens - meaning they had had more shots in both meetings this season.
Forest face already relegated Sheffield United, Chelsea and fellow strugglers Burnley in their final three games, and Nuno has seen enough to be confident of securing the Reds' Premier League status for another year.
"We played a good game, were compact, organised and had chances," he told Sky Sports. "We did a good job regarding how hard it is to play against Manchester City, and the players gave it a big go.
"We are disappointed with the result, but the encouragement comes from the way we work, how committed we are, and what we have ahead of us. This is more important.
"We stay positive, and we go for the next three games. With this attitude, we will achieve what we want."
Defender Moussa Niakhate echoes his manager's thoughts, adding: "We had three big chances in the first half, but we didn't score. That was the difference.
"Everybody is working hard. We can be proud. If we perform like this in the next three games, we'll stay up."
Napoli 2-2 Roma: Late Abraham header denies wasteful hosts
A wasteful Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Roma in Serie A, with a late Tammy Abraham header securing a point for the visitors.
The visitors took the lead from the penalty spot a minute before the hour mark, with Paulo Dybala converting after Juan Jesus fouled Sardar Amzoun.
However, Napoli equalised six minutes later through Matias Olivera's deflected shot, and completed the turnaround with their own penalty six minutes from time as Victor Osimhen tucked away after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was felled by Renato Sanches.
The hosts could not hold on, though, and were pegged back with two minutes to go. Substitute Abraham's header from a corner was eventually awarded following a VAR review after he had initially been ruled offside.
Data debrief
Napoli remain eighth in the Serie A table on 50 points, the exact amount they had registered after their opening 19 games of last season.
Though his penalty was not enough to earn Roma victory, Dybala continued his impressive start to 2024, during which he has been involved in the joint-most goals in Serie A with 12 (nine goals, three assists).
Gvardiol: Four more finals for City in title fight
Josko Gvardiol believes there are "four more finals" for Manchester City between them and the Premier League title.
City won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest on Sunday thanks to a first-half header from Gvardiol before a 71st-minute Erling Haaland finish wrapped up the points.
The victory moves City one point behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand. The Gunners played earlier on Sunday, winning 3-2 at north London rivals Tottenham.
The destination of the Premier League title remains in City's hands as they bid for a sixth Premier League title in seven seasons, and Gvardiol acknowledged that every game between now and the end of the season is vital.
"We need to be focused on ourselves," Gvardiol told Sky Sports. "That’s what we are doing.
"There are four more finals to the end so let's do it."
Gvardiol's goal set City on course for victory at the City Ground, nodding home from Kevin De Bruyne's inswinging corner.
It was only Gvardiol's second Premier League goal since arriving at City from RB Leipzig prior to this season.
Gvardiol was somewhat surprised to get on the scoresheet, saying: "I didn't expect to score, but I found myself in a good position.
"It was really tough especially as the pitch was really dry. It's a more than important three points."
Pep Guardiola was delighted to come away with the three points against a Forest side fighting for their lives at the bottom, with the defeat to City leaving Nuno Espirito Santo's men in a perilous position, just a point above the relegation zone with three games to play.
"It was a difficult game," Guardiola told Sky Sports. "They played with bravery. They have fast players with a lot of quality.
"It is a great victory as we had a lot of games behind us. These games are so, so tough at this stage in the Premier League. Now we have a long week to recover."
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