Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino feels Chelsea gave his side "big, big respect" in the 2-2 draw the two played out at Stamford Bridge this evening.
Pochettino, who knew that anything less than all three points against the Blues would hand Leicester City the Premier League title, saw his men race into a 2-0 lead by half time after superb goals from Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.
But a goal from Gary Cahill in the 58th minute gave Chelsea hope, while they then drew level in the 83rd minute through Eden Hazard.
Spurs scrambled to find an equaliser, but Chelsea looked just as dangerous and threatened to win it. It ended 2-2, but was a game full of heavy challenges, yellow cards and a scrum at the end of the match as players from both sides argued.
Chelsea were fired up to stop Spurs winning the title, but Pochettino took the way the Blues played the game as a big compliment as he feels it shows just how far his men have come.
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"That makes us very proud of our players and our season to see Chelsea show big, big respect to us", Pochettino told Sky Sports after the final whistle.
"This is how we want to carry on [fighting at the top of the league]."
Now the Argentine is keen for Spurs to make sure they approach next term in the same way, while he is encouraged by the young average age of his squad.
"It was a good lesson for us, we are the youngest squad in the league. We feel very proud and our supporters need to feel proud too, we have massive potential for the future.
"We are disappointed because of the title but we need to be realistic and congratulate our players. Next season we need to be stronger than this season and try to be in the race."
