Mauricio Pochettino is anticipating an “amazing” all-English Champions League final after his Tottenham side took inspiration from Liverpool to stage an incredible comeback to beat Ajax.
Lucas Moura scored a second-half hat-trick, and 96th-minute winner, as Spurs progressed on away goals on Wednesday.
It came 24 hours after Liverpool beat Barcelona 4-0, having lost the first leg 3-0, to book their place in Madrid.
“I think it’s one of the most important nights in my life,” said Pochettino.
Tottenham trailed 1-0 after the home leg and found themselves 2-0 down at half-time in Amsterdam, before Brazilian forward Moura’s dramatic hat-trick made it 3-3 on aggregate and sent Spurs into a first Champions League final.
“To get the club to the final of the Champions League… I think is very close to a miracle,” added Pochettino.
“No one believed in us from the beginning of the season. We are so close to the top four and have the opportunity in Madrid to play the final against Liverpool.”
Tottenham defender Danny Rose said Pochettino had mentioned Liverpool’s fightback at Anfield in the other semi-final before the game.
“We saw Liverpool last night, and it goes to show it’s not over until it’s over,” said Rose.
“The gaffer mentioned Liverpool’s display at the hotel before the match. The gaffer doesn’t mind us losing but we have to lose the right way.
“We’re lucky we’ve gone through and we look forward to the Champions League final.”
The final, the competition’s first all-English affair since Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow in 2008, will take place on 1 June at at Atletico Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium.
“Allow me to relax a little bit, there is going to be time to talk about Liverpool,” said Pochettino, who marks his fifth anniversary in charge of Spurs later this month.
“I want to congratulate Jurgen Klopp and all the players and Liverpool, because I think they were amazing.
“We enjoyed a lot watching the tie against Barcelona. They are heroes too and, of course, it is going to be an amazing final between two English teams that for sure we are going to enjoy.”
Tottenham scraped through the group stages and knocked out Borussia Dortmund and Premier League leaders Manchester City before the victory against Ajax.
Defender Toby Alderweireld says the side will carry that belief into the final against Liverpool.
“Why not? We have to believe,” he said.
“We had a difficult group. We went to Dortmund, who were first in the league, and beat them. City, first in the league, we beat them. Ajax, first in the league, beat them. So why not?”
