Antonio Conte praised Tanguy Ndombele, Bryan Gil, and Steven Bergwijn as Tottenham Hotspur beat Crystal Palace
Antonio Conte was delighted with Tottenham Hotspur trio Tanguy Ndombele, Bryan Gil, and Steven Bergwijn, all of who were impressive in their 3-0 win over Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
His team continued to build on the promise they have shown since late November and are looking like a real force. The manner in which they picked apart Patrick Vieira’s side was a testament to that.
Tottenham controlled most of the game as they cruised to what was an ultimately easy three points. Harry Kane opened the scoring just past the half-hour mark before Lucas Moura doubled the lead just minutes later. Son Heung-Min completed the drubbing in the second half after Wilfried Zaha got his marching orders in the first half.
Speaking in the post-match press conference (h/t Tottenham Hotspur official website), Conte was effusive in his praise of Bergwijn, Gil and Ndombele for their performances from the bench. He added that they need to keep doing this consistently as the entire team has to play a part in order to be successful.
“I’m happy for our strikers, because they scored and I’m happy for Steven Bergwijn because when he came in (for Harry, 64 minutes), he played very well, the same for Bryan Gil and Tanguy. I repeat, I need to involve all the players, for us, that’s very important in this project. We have to exploit the whole squad and to improve our players.”
What a turnaround
Before the Italian took the managerial job at N17, most of us thought that there was a big difference in quality between the Spurs’ first team and the squad players. The feeling was similar in the early days under Conte, but it has changed recently.
We have seen more fringe players drop solid displays and try to make their mark in the team of late. It shows just how much of an impact Conte has had at the Lane.
Bergwijn continued his fine form from the win against West Ham United, where he was crucial in ensuring qualification for the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Ndombele showed a similar trait as he followed up on his display against Liverpool in the league. Both the Dutchman and the French ace appear to be making a renewed bid at returning to the first XI setup.
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Gil could finally be taking the necessary steps to replicate what he did at Sevilla. The Spaniard has struggled to earn minutes since moving to N17 but that was perhaps always the plan- to ease him in and prepare him for a bigger role in the future. He is bound to get more game time due to the congested fixture list that will soon follow.
The Tottenham trio would certainly have a role to play this season. With games set to come thick and fast, rotation is key and every single player will need to step up to the plate. We will face Southampton tomorrow and just who will step up and make themselves counted remains to be seen.
