Mauricio Pochettino 'Loves' Sarcastic Jose Mourinho Despite Title Race Remarks

Mauricio Pochettino laughed at Jose Mourinho's assessment that his Tottenham Hotspur side are Premier League title contenders alongside Liverpool, Manchester City—and City's "B team." 

Spurs were part of the title race to a point last season and eventually finished fourth, more than 25 points below Liverpool and City. Pochettino, 47, spoke at a press conference ahead of Saturday's trip to the Etihad Stadium and revelled in Mourinho's prediction of this season's silverware chase, via Sky Sports: 

The Argentinian said:

"I love Mou [Mourinho]. You know very well. He's so clever. He's so sarcastic sometimes. That is why he's one of the best managers in the world, too. I respect his opinion, you know.

"And of course grateful, because a manager like Mourinho believing that we have the potential to be a contender, I think is important. Of course, we have our belief and our faith in us, but that compliment helps us to believe in ourselves a little bit more."

Mourinho, 56, made his debut as a Sky Sports pundit during the Premier League's opening weekend. He predicted this season's favourites but picked out defending champions City as front-runners:

Football journalist Grant Wahl recently appeared on Sports Illustrated Now (via Planet Futbol) and noted that City's staggering resources set them above the competition:

Not counting Chelsea following their transfer ban, almost all of the Premier League's top clubs have spent significantly this summer either in a bid to bridge the gap or reinforce their position. 

Spurs broke their transfer record to sign Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon, as well as recruiting English prospect Ryan Sessegnon from Fulham and loaning Giovani Lo Celso from Real Betis for the season.

City also broke their transfer record for the second summer straight to sign Rodri from Atletico Madrid for €70 million. They later signed defender Joao Cancelo from Juventus for £60 million in a deal that saw Danilo move in the other direction.

Liverpool had a quieter summer after spending a lot in 2018 and have unfortunately now lost goalkeeper Alisson and reserve stopper Adrian to injury, per BBC Sport. Journalist Mark Ogden recently appeared on BBC 5 Live Sport and said City could have the title in the bag by Christmas:

Pochettino won't agree with that judgement as long as he can keep his star men fit. Ndombele scored a debut equaliser against Aston Villa to spare their blushes, while Lo Celso and Sessegnon are still to come into the team.

Spurs lost 2-0 to Liverpool in last season's UEFA Champions League final despite not making a single summer signing in 2018. Tottenham beat Ajax in the last minute of their semi-final clash to make it to the final, and Mourinho told beIN Sports Pochettino needs to add silverware to his resume:

Saturday's visit to the Etihad Stadium will be a prime opportunity to stake their claim on the Premier League title as they hope to strip the defending champions of points on their own soil.