Mauricio Pochettino insisted Tottenham are ‘innocent people’ after Son Heung-min became the fourth Spurs player to be booked for diving this season during the 3-1 victory over Leicester.

Son went down amid slight contact from Harry Maguire during the first half and was shown a yellow card by referee Michael Oliver. In doing so, Son joined Harry Kane, Lucas Moura and Danny Rose in being cautioned for diving this season.

Pochettino felt Son had a more convincing case than the penalty that Leicester were awarded when James Maddison went down after a challenge by Jan Vertonghen. 

Mauricio Pochettino has defended his Tottenham side by claiming that they are ‘innocent’

Pochettino, who apologised for kicking the ball into the stands while celebrating Tottenham’s third goal, then highlighted a past dispute with Oliver, who turned down a late penalty appeal for Son during Liverpool’s 2-1 win at Tottenham in September.

‘Do you think Sonny deserved to be booked?’ Pochettino asked. ‘Unbelievable. When you compare with the penalty against us, unbelievable. The problem is I told Michael Oliver, the situation of Liverpool in the last minute that should be a penalty. It was the same referee but I don’t know how he has measured the situation. It is so difficult.

‘I always accept the mistake but I think it was so strange the situation today. It was so clear the position today with Sonny, the action, but it wasn’t clear the position of Maddison when he was on the floor. 

Michael Oliver booked Son Heung-min for a dive in the first half after he went down in the box

However, the Tottenham forward disagreed with Oliver’s decision to book him for simulation

‘It is unbelievable. I am more relaxed because we won the game but so disappointed with the situation because everyone wants to talk about different clubs or players but do you think we are a team that is trying to cheat the referee? 

‘Come on, we are the most innocent people on the pitch? We are such nice people.’

Pochettino also critcised the scheduling of the game, accusing the Premier League and broadcasters of failing to help English clubs in the Champions League. Their opponents Borussia Dortmund played on Saturday ahead of the knockout tie on Wednesday.

Leicester were given a penalty when James Maddison (centre) went down inside the area

Pochettino felt Son had a more convincing case than the penalty that Leicester were awarded

‘I feel so embarrassed because I can accept to play today [Sunday] if Dortmund play today and then we play Wednesday. I cannot understand why we’re playing with a massive disadvantage. Twenty-four hours in this type of competition is massive. It doesn’t mean that we’re not going to compete.

‘I don’t want it to be an excuse. Today is the last time I complain and I hope you describe and send the right message, not “Pochettino is crying.” It doesn’t mean we will play in a different way. We believe we can win.

‘My players are heroes. What happens at the end of the season, they are going to be remembered. If we win some title, in the history, but if not, in the history too, because against all the circumstances. how we fight and show character is amazing.’

England head coach Eddie Jones turned his sights to the ‘greatest Welsh side ever’ after a resounding mauling of France gave his men two wins from two Guinness Six Nations games.

England backed up their victory in Ireland with a 44-8 defeat of Les Bleus at Twickenham, falling one point short of the record margin of victory of 37 points, set in 1911.

Jonny May scored a first-half hat-trick and there were tries for Henry Slade, Owen Farrell and a penalty try as England kept hapless France scoreless in the second half. Farrell kicked an additional 14 points.

England head coach Eddie Jones has turned his sights to the ‘greatest Welsh side ever’

Next for Jones’ men is a trip to Cardiff on February 23, with Jones apparently having forgotten the great Wales sides of the 1970s and the Grand Slam winners of 2005, 2008 and 2012 in his assessment of Warren Gatland’s men.

‘There’s a lot more in this team and we understand that and we’re committed to being the very best we can be,’ Jones said.

‘When we get back together on Wednesday we’ll start the process of how we can get better again.

‘We’re playing the greatest Welsh side ever; we’re going to have to be at our absolute best.

‘You know you’re playing against a Warren Gatland side. He’s been at the top of the tree in European rugby for the last 15 years, through his club and country and the Lions.

England backed up their victory in Ireland with a 44-8 defeat of Les Bleus at Twickenham

‘You’re playing against a tough, physical team. They contest hard at the breakdown. You’ve got to earn every point against them.

‘We’re looking forward to going down there. Should be fun.’

England led 30-8 at the interval, with four tries earning a bonus-point victory, but Jones insisted the second-half performance was even better.

‘I think when you put yourself in a position where after 30 minutes you’ve got a bonus point against a top team you’ve done pretty well,’ he added.

‘And the second half I thought our performance was even better. Even though we didn’t score as many points, our focus and our discipline to keep France scoreless was outstanding.

Jonny May scored a first-half hat-trick and there were tries for Henry Slade and Owen Farrell

‘But we just had a quick chat in the room there and we felt we probably left 15 to 20 points on the field.’

Jones reserved particular praise for May, who took his Test tally to 22 tries in 42 appearances, with two of his scores coming as reward for chasing kicks.

Jones added: ‘Jonny May’s like when you go to the park and you see someone with a tennis ball and they throw it, the dog runs 100mph and chases it and brings it back. He does that pretty well.’

England have enjoyed success through their tactical kicking game in Dublin and now against Les Bleus, but Jones hinted at varied tactics to come at the Principality Stadium.

‘There’s always space, because you’ve only got 15 players,’ Jones added.

Jones forgot the great Wales side of the 1970s in his assessment of Warren Gatland’s men

‘At the moment we’re having a great deal of success with our kicking, but that could create opportunities in the next game somewhere else.’

Prop Mako Vunipola was replaced and required the application of ice to his left ankle, but Jones was uncertain of the severity of the injury.

France replied through a Morgan Parra penalty and Damian Penaud try in an error-strewn performance which does not bode well in World Cup year. The teams meet again in Yokohama in October.

France head coach Jacques Brunel said: ‘Obviously I’m very, very disappointed. I’m most of all disappointed with what happened in the first half.

‘We were really under pressure from the English side, especially from their kicking game and we were not able to overcome that.’

France captain Guilhem Guirado added: ‘It’s very painful when they score try after try.

‘The pressure was constant and we never managed to get out of that.’

Barcelona dropped two points against Athletic Bilbao but left San Mames feeling relieved because without two brilliant saves from Marc Andre ter Stegen they would have been heading home with nothing.

The draw leaves them six points clear of Real Madrid who were the winners from the weekend leapfrogging Atletico and closing in slightly on the league leaders.

Barcelona were below-par in the first half, lacking width, penetration and their usual capacity to keep possession. 

Lionel Messi was a frustrated figure as he tried to find a way through the home side’s defence but he was often stopped

Marc-Andre ter Stegen made an excellent save in the first half to tip the ball over the crossbar and to keep his side in the game

Arturo Vidal was the biggest culprit. He gave the ball straight to Yuri Berchiche whose shot from distance went just past the post.

Vidal lost possession again moments later this time under no pressure he put the ball straight out of play and Ernesto Valverde did little to hide his exasperation on the touchline.

Luis Suarez almost fashioned a goal from nothing charging down Iago Herrerin but stabbing the ball just wide.

Iñaki Williams then laid it off to Markel Susaeta and Ter Stegen made the first of his vital stops with one of the saves of the season tipping the effort acrobatically over the bar.

Messi seemed to be playing with the handbrake half on, but Barcelona’s best chances still came from him. He floated one cross to Suarez who couldn’t get his head to the ball.

He also clipped the top of the bar after Herrerin had charged out to close down Nelson Semedo. And he then drifted wide right to try his luck from distance with a long shot that Herrerin spilled for a corner which came to nothing.

Raul Garcia was lively for Athletic. Asides from the occasional Machiavellian maneuver with referee Carlos del Cerro Grande he flicked the ball up and over-head kicked it goalwards only for it to go just wide. Sergio Roberto then blocked his shot wide only for match officials to fail to spot the touch from the Barcelona defender and award a goal-kick instead of a corner.

Luis Suarez (left) was often frustrated that his side could not find the breakthrough in the first half and he often complained

Raul Garcia’a attempted spectacular overhead kick went safely into Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s arms in the first half

Lionel Messi attempted a strike on goal and Inigo Martinez tried to take the ball of the Argentina international

Athletic were subdued at the restart. Only their pursuit – legal or otherwise – of Messi continued at the same level of intensity. Messi complained to the referee as free-kicks were either not given or not accompanied by a yellow card.

Barcelona put Carles Aleña on for Vidal. And Athletic threw on Iker Muniain as they tried to wake from their second-half attacking slumber. It almost worked when he immediately provoked a counter-attack that ended with Mikel San Jose shooting wide.

From another counter Lenglet earned a booking for scything down Iñaki Williams but again the resulting set-piece came to nothing.

With 15 minutes left Ousmane Dembele replaced Philippe Coutinho. Still Barcelona were not dominating and when Messi came deep to look for the ball he was dispossessed by Williams who raced clear and had to be chopped down this time by Sergio Busquets. Muniain took the free-kick but Williams headed it wide under pressure from Gerard Pique.

Muniain had made a difference, making Athletic more of an attacking force and he created another chance for Williams and another opportunity for Ter Stegen to save Barcelona. Williams took one touch and shot but Ter Stegen’s reflexes passed the test and he stuck out a straight, strong right arm to bat the ball wide. It was his second crucial save of the game.

Pique connected with a late Messi free-kick but couldn’t get his header on target. A Barça winner would have been hard on Athletic.

They had Oscar de Marcos sent off for a second yellow but saw out injury time with 10 men despite a late scare when the referee blew for time but then appeared to keep the players on the pitch for a few seconds longer while VAR reviewed the final tackle of the match from Yeray Alvarez. They breathed a sigh of relief when he finally sent them down the tunnel. Barça were relieved too – they had dropped two points but it would have been worse without their outstanding keeper. 

Suarez was working hard to close the opposition down in order to get the away side on the front foot and to retain the ball

Ernersto Valverde’s side struggled in the first half but his side came out fighting after the interval as they searched for the win

What a difference it has made for Joe Root to have a properly-balanced side for this final Test match.

Forget the merits of the personnel chosen, it’s the formation of the XI that has proved so crucial to that. There are three frontline batsmen before you get to Root himself at number four and there are three frontline seamers before you ask Ben Stokes to bowl.

This kind of line-up is much better for Stokes and that in turn is better for England. Having him in the proper role of all-rounder, as the fourth seamer, frees him up and allows him to focus more on his batting at number six. The team reaped the rewards of this in the first innings.

Joe Root might be in a dry spell for runs, but he’s made good tactical decisions in this Test

Mark Wood took five wickets on day two against West Indies, with Moeen Ali picking up four

Somehow England arrived in St Lucia with Stokes having bowled just four fewer deliveries in the series than James Anderson. His workload has been too much on this trip and that diminishes the impact of the special talent that he is.

Unfortunately it has taken until the last game of the series to address it, and you have to question why we have seen Sam Curran selected in the bowling attack ahead of Stuart Broad and Mark Wood.

As a selector on tour, Root has to accept some of the responsibility for walking out in Barbados and Antigua with the wrong teams. Here, he has learned from his mistakes and walked out with the right one.

I understand why they were so tempted to play Curran, with the record and the impact he has already had in his fledgling international career, but history tells you in this part of the world you need height or extra pace – both of which he lacks.

England started the series trying to reinvent the wheel as far as selection goes. The change to a more traditional template for selection has produced a more satisfactory look to the team.

Root was excellent as captain on Sunday. I thought he got Wood on at exactly the right time. It was a clever move to go to him ahead of someone like Stokes because he is a nervy character, doesn’t want to be considered an after-thought and hadn’t played in the series.

Sam Curran had been selected for previous tests, but Root correctly went with Wood this time

I was looking for Root to stamp his authority on the team in this match and, after not making runs in the first innings, he did so. As a captain you’re like an all-rounder and when one bit of your game is not going quite so well the other one has to kick in.

What I liked from ball one was the small stuff. I mentioned the other day that I wanted him to be firmer with his senior fast bowlers James Anderson and Broad. Jimmy wanted his fine leg wider but on a pitch like this that’s nibbling around, with a bit of pace, the edges and clips are going to go finer. The first ball to Kraigg Brathwaite went straight to the fielder and if he hadn’t been were Root insisted it would’ve gone for four.

Yes, Anderson and Broad might get a little cross but the wins and losses go against Root’s career as a captain. It won’t say how many times they won the argument. He has to do things he feels are right, learn from his mistakes and get that gut feel for captaincy.

Sometimes you can overplay the other side of the job. A kind of ‘look at me, I might not have contributed with the bat but aren’t I a brilliant captain?’ You try to make it look like you’re thinking out of the box. That’s not what I’ve seen out there. He’s stuck to the basics of captaincy, and you could tell who was in charge.

Joe Root followed his gut to bring on Moeen Ali on a pitch that seemed good for seamers

On a pitch on which the seamers held sway, he had a bit of a gut feel to bring Moeen Ali on first change – arguably partly down to the fact that he had already dismissed Brathwaite a couple of times in the series and had got John Campbell out sweeping.

He also bowled James Anderson for a shorter spell, which showed he’d learned from his error of the last game in Antigua when he kept him on for an hour, which meant he couldn’t follow Broad with Anderson at the danger end, allowing a let-up in pressure.

So much is driven by stats and footage before a game but as a captain you mustn’t just put in place pre-ordained plans of certain bowlers bowling to certain batsmen on the instructions of a coach or analyst. Anyone can do that but a captain needs to develop a feel for the game.

You could argue that bringing Moeen on was a little stats-driven but it was a brave thing on a seaming pitch when their spinner didn’t get any wickets.

Root might be going through his first lean patch as a Test batsman but he will feel better about himself because he made some good tactical decisions. And the right players on board to implement them. 

Manchester City made a statement with their emphatic 6-0 win over Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.

They’re back to the top of the league, level on points with Liverpool, although with a massive 10 goal difference advantage. However, Liverpool have a game in hand.

Even though their destiny is in their own hands, Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness has his doubts over Liverpool’s ability to hang on at the top.

Manchester City made a massive statement with an emphatic 6-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday

Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness believes Liverpool will have to win every game from now

Chelsea slipped from fourth to sixth in the league, while Manchester City went top again

‘City have put a marker down today,’ Souness said on Sky Sports. ‘You’re going to have to win every single game, Liverpool, to win this league.’

The three title contenders, Manchester City, Liverpool, and dark horses Tottenham Hotspur, all won their games this weekend with a reasonably comfortable scoreline. 

Liverpool beat Bournemouth 3-0, and Spurs beat Leicester 3-1, although they were worried by the Foxes at times. 

City’s 6-0 demolition of Liverpool was a class above though, and Souness believes that they have emerged from their ‘rough patch’ after a loss to Newcastle United and will sail to the end of the season.

‘I don’t want to say it… [City] are going to take some stopping aren’t they?’ Said Souness. ‘Looking at them, how clinical they are. They’ve had their rollicking off their manager, they’ve had their hiccup, they’ve had their points drop. They are going to take some stopping if that’s their mood between now and the end.’

However, Liverpool still have destiny in their own hands as they have a game in hand over City

Manchester City were already 4-0 up after 25 minutes on a day to forget to Chelsea, who slipped from fourth to sixth in the Premier League this weekend. 

The second half didn’t get any better for them, as City put another two goals past them. Sergio Aguero completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot early in the second half. 

Fellow pundit Gary Neville agreed with Souness, saying that he’s tipped them to win the title all season, however ‘it’s as if City turned it up a notch this week.’ 

It’s a tough week for Liverpool coming up, with a Champions League match against Bayern Munich on Tuesday followed by a trip to Old Trafford to face in-form Manchester United on Sunday.

City now don’t have a Premier League game until February 27 against West Ham. However they have cup games against Newport County, Schalke 04, and the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea on February 24.  

Jamie Carragher says Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea resemble a ‘weak’ Arsenal team as they crumbled against a ferocious Manchester City on Sunday.

Chelsea were 4-0 down to Pep Guardiola’s side after only 25 minutes and ended up losing the game 6-0. 

‘The worst thing I can say is it looks like he’s turned Chelsea into Arsenal,’ Carragher said on Sky Sports.

Chelsea went 4-0 down within 25 minutes in the first half against Manchester City on Sunday

Jamie Carragher has berated Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri after their first half performance

 Carragher said that Sarri has ‘turned Chelsea into Arsenal,’ looking weak in the big matches

While Carragher called Manchester City’s first half display ‘outstanding,’ he berated Chelsea for their performance.

‘I called a couple of Chelsea performances a disgrace going into this game, this is as bad as anything,’ he said.

‘Looking at Sarri, just over halfway through his first season, but the worst thing I can say is it looks like he’s turned Chelsea into Arsenal.

‘That Arsenal team that just used to get battered for the last seven or eight years away from home in big games because they were too weak.’

Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for the visitors after just four minutes before Sergio Aguero added two more shortly after. Ilkay Gundogan piled even more misery on Chelsea in the 25th minute.

Manchester City celebrate scoring yet another goal against Chelsea in a dominating display

Carragher called Marcos Alonso’s defending ‘criminal’ for the first goal, while he and fellow pundit Graeme Souness believe that Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga should’ve been able to keep out a couple of the goals.

The second half didn’t get much better for Chelsea, with Aguero scoring a penalty and completing his hat-trick after 56 minutes. Sterling then doubled his own tally 10 minutes from time.

‘You could never say that about Chelsea, no matter what’s gone on, that they’ve been “weak,”‘ said Carragher. ‘We’re watching a really weak football team here.’