Chelsea vs. Tottenham: Mauricio Pochettino Reacts After Stamford Bridge Brawl

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted he and his side "didn’t set a good example" as their 2-2 draw with Chelsea descended into chaos on Monday at Stamford Bridge.

The draw ended Spurs' title challenge and handed Leicester City the unlikeliest of Premier League crowns, and the north London side seemed to lose their heads, although Pochettino described the intensity as "normal," per Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail:

"

Maybe we didn’t set a good example, but it’s a normal emotion, fighting on the pitch. 

I was involved in all of it. I tried to be calm. But it was derby, we were fighting for the title and Chelsea fighting to win the game, but I think they make us feel very proud, how Chelsea took the game and showed us respect.

It’s not personal, we respect them. We have full respect for them. It’s football, we are men, they are men, we need to show we are strong.

"

Among a string of clashes between Spurs and Chelsea players during the match, Mousa Dembele appeared to gouge Blues striker Diego Costa in the eye.

There was also a mass brawl at the entrance to the tunnel following the final whistle after Chelsea had come back from a 2-0 deficit to put the final nail in the coffin of their archrivals' title hopes.

Pochettino was caught up in the post-match confrontations between the two teams at the side of the pitch, per the Telegraph's Paul Hayward:

The Argentinian also sparked the touchline melee that led to Dembele and Costa's clash when he walked onto the pitch to separate Danny Rose and Willian, per Sky Sports MNF:

There are likely to be sanctions for both sides when the dust has settled on an entertaining evening's action.

According to Mokbel, Spurs face an automatic fine after nine of their players were booked—an ignominious season high, per WhoScored.com:

Meanwhile, Dembele's 2015-16 campaign is likely over given that he could be handed a lengthy ban, per ESPN FC's Ben Dinnery:

Pochettino claimed after the clash that he did not see the incident involving the Belgian midfielder and Costa, per Mokbel: "I heard, but I didn’t see it. We can see in every game in the last few days a lot of things happen. It’s the end of the season, the emotion, we are human. We need to see the video. On the touchline is hard to observe the situations."

With Leicester having only managed to secure a draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, Spurs' title hopes were still alive ahead of the clash with Chelsea.

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It looked as though Tottenham would take the title race at least to the penultimate weekend of the season when they went 2-0 ahead before half-time after goals from Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

But the hosts spoiled Spurs' party as Gary Cahill netted just ahead of the hour mark before Eden Hazard curled home from the edge of the box with seven minutes remaining.

There was to be much late drama as both sets of players continued to clash, but Pochettino's side could not find another goal and Leicester were crowned champions.