City defeat a 'good experience' for Tottenham - Pochettino
Despite being without the talismanic David Silva, who was absent for personal reasons, Pep Guardiola's runaway leaders eased to a 16th straight Premier League win on Saturday.
Tottenham failed to pick up scorer Ilkay Gundogan for City's opener and, after Kevin de Bruyne made it 2-0 in the 70th minute, conceded two late goals to Raheem Sterling as they pushed bodies forward, Christian Eriksen's late consolation rendered meaningless.
Pochettino was particularly disappointed with the way his side fell behind at the Etihad Stadium, yet refused to be too downbeat at the final scoreline.
"I think it was a good experience for the team, when you win and play well you maybe don't learn, so you must learn from this type of game," he told BBC Sport.
"We have a lot of positive things, because we played a team in very good form with very good momentum.
"It wasn't bad at the start [of the game], but the way we conceded from a corner was a big mistake and a massive present for them, when you play a team in very good form, you cannot give away these gifts.
"When you're playing a team with good quality, if we take risks, we give them the possibility of making chances. We tried to play, but they were better, we have to congratulate them. So far, they are the best team in England."
55 - Harry Kane's shot in the 55th minute was Spurs' first on target in this game; the latest they have attempted their opening shot on target in a Premier League game this season. Quiet.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 16, 2017
Tottenham had to wait until the 55th minute for their first shot on target in the game and were fortunate their opponents missed a second-half penalty, with substitute Gabriel Jesus' spot kick kept out by the woodwork.
"I am very disappointed. We must learn, because one day we want to be in a position to win the Premier League, but today was a big lesson for us," Pochettino added.
"We were never going to come here and play a different way to how we normally play, so, we tried, we tried to force the opener, but they were better."
Tottenham will hope for a better outcome when they head out on the road again next Saturday, as they travel to Turf Moor to take on surprise package Burnley.