Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino insisted his side learned a lot about themselves after snatching a 2-1 win over Anderlecht in the Europa League on Thursday, according to ​London 24.


Moussa Dembele struck a stunning goal late on at White Hart Lane, after Harry Kane's opener was cancelled out by Imoh Ezekiel for the Belgian side. Pochettino was anticipating a tough game and insisted that's exactly what Spurs were given, but he congratulated his players after they earned the points.


He said: “We knew Anderlecht are a very good team. It was a difficult start to the game. They had some chances. The way we managed the ball and moved the ball was very slow. It was difficult for us to create chances. 


“The way Anderlecht play is to sit deep and move forward with very fast players but we showed character. It is difficult to play every game, creating chances and always trying to play from the back with our philosophy. 


“Today I congratulate the players because sometimes when you don’t play well you need to show character and compete and suffer. Today we learned a lot.”


Pochettino was delighted with Dembele's contribution and hailed his importance to the team after returning from injury, while he also praised Kane for getting back among the goals ahead of Sunday's north London derby clash with Arsenal.


He added: “If we analyse him last season, part of the season he was injured. I think Dembele from the beginning of this season, every time he was available he had the possibility to play. 

Tottenham Hotspur FC v RSC Anderlecht - UEFA Europa League


“Always it’s up to the player. If the player shows he deserves to play, it’s easy for them. 


“I am very pleased with him. He got injured against Everton and had some problems with his foot but today he was very important for us.” 


On Kane, he said: “We never had any doubts about him. Always the top players sometimes have times when they struggle to score. We are very pleased with him, very happy he has started to score again and I think we deserved to take the three points. 


“I am pleased because we are top of the group and now we need to focus only on Sunday.”


Tottenham Hotspur FC v RSC Anderlecht - UEFA Europa League