Antonio Conte delivers verdict on Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-2 win against Manchester City
Antonio Conte has given his verdict on his team’s performance as Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester City 3-2 at Etihad Stadium in the Premier League. The away victory would certainly give them a much-needed boost following the recent couple of losses they suffered in the league.
Coming into this game, Man City were the clear favourites but it was the visitors who took the lead through Dejan Kulusevski in the early stages of the match. Son Heung-Min set him up after Harry Kane released him with a brilliant through ball. The hosts were dominant in the first half despite trailing early in the game.
Unfortunately, the ever-reliable Hugo Lloris spilt a cross from Raheem Sterling just past the half-hour mark, which enabled Ilkay Gundogan to equalise.
The league leaders continued to be dominant, but Tottenham were threatening on the counter. They eventually took the lead just before the hour mark as Kane headed past Ederson after Son set him up through a cross. Three points looked likely to be in the bag before Riyad Mahrez put away a penalty from Cristian Romero’s handball.
However, it was Kane and Spurs that had the last laugh, with Kane heading in a late winner to provide a massive win in our quest for a top-four finish.
What a game!
Speaking in the post-match interview with Spurs TV (h/t Tottenham Hotspur official website), Conte was ecstatic about the commitment, belief and effort his players put in to get the three points. The boss added that he was delighted by the Tottenham squad and how they kept pushing even though a draw could have been considered as a good result.
“I’m pleased, especially for the players, because we showed great commitment, great belief and it was incredible after the penalty and 2-2, okay, you could say we’re happy because 2-2 is a good result against Manchester City, but instead we wanted to win. I think what we have to bring with us is this desire in every moment of the game. We wanted to get three points. I was pleased to see this from my players.”
During the build-up to this match, the Italian coach told the players to be “perfect” tactically, defensively and offensively to get a good result against Pep Guardiola’s side. Even though they could not fulfil all of those instructions, they still did what they had to do to be the victors on the night.
The North London side was tactically astute during attacks as they sat back and hit them on the counters with great precision. That certainly worked as it led to their victory against the title holders in a tightly contested fixture.
It would have been too big of an ask for the players to completely shut down the table-toppers. They constantly created opportunities but were unable to take advantage of the ones that came their way.
More Tottenham Hotspur News
- Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur speaks about his main motive behind joining Tottenham Hotspur
- Roberto Martinez: Tottenham Hotspur need to show patience with Antonio Conte
- Daniel Levy considers rehiring Mauricio Pochettino should Antonio Conte depart Tottenham Hotspur
Following the win, we are now in a strong place to mount a challenge for a top-four finish. Man United, Arsenal, and West Ham United seem like our realistic contenders at this point, and while not being in Europe doesn’t really suit a big club like Spurs, the lack of continental ‘distraction’ could see us edge our rivals for the coveted UCL spots.
