MAURICIO Pochettino suffered his first defeat as Tottenham manager against a Liverpool side containing his ex-Saints defender Dejan Lovren.

Rickie Lambert was an unused sub as Liverpool ended Pochettino’s 100 per cent start to 2014/15 with a 3-0 win at White Hart Lane this afternoon.

It was Liverpool debutant Mario Balotelli who had generated all the pre-match hype, but it was Raheem Sterling who provided the magic.

Sterling ignited the rout at White Hart Lane with an eighth-minute opener and tormented Spurs with a display that will have delighted England coach Roy Hodgson ahead of the forthcoming fixtures against Norway and Switzerland.

The 19-year-old’s finest moment saw him weave a path through the home defence only to fire a tame shot at Hugo Lloris, prompting Brendan Rodgers to joke: “Raheem ran into the box like Ricky Villa and finished it like Ricky Gervais.”

Pochettino felt events conspired against his side.

“We are very disappointed with the result because we had key moments in the game,” he said.

“In the beginning after some mistakes we conceded the first goal, but we competed very well in that first half. We created a chance, a one against one with the keeper.

“Then in the second half we conceded a very soft penalty at a key moment in the game.

“And at 2-0 down we tried, but we tried but were unlucky. I'm disappointed with the result.”