Antonio Conte explains the tactical change made to help Tottenham Hotspur beat Marseille
Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur continued their unbeaten start to the season in all competitions, courtesy of a late Richarlison brace against Olympique de Marseille.
Spurs hosted the French side for their opening game of this season’s Champions League. It took the host 75 minutes to finally beat a stubborn Marseille defence, despite the visitors playing with 10 men for most of the second half.
Conte has now explained the tactical changes he made to help his side secure the three points and start off their new campaign in the best possible way.
In the interview published on the club’s website, the Italian coach reflected on the game and also how his tactical changes helped his side.
“I also tried to help the team by making substitutions, especially with Deki (Dejan Kulusevski ) to play very wide and create a one v one on one side, and a one v one with Ivan (Perisic) on the other side to keep the strikers in the game.”
“Then, we changed the two central defenders with Ben Davies and Japhet Tanganga, because, in those moments, we had to push. Then, we were good to exploit the situation.”
Ivan Perisic did assist Richarlison for the first goal. The Brazilian powered home a header from the Croatian’s cross to give his side the lead. Five minutes later, he would head the ball home again, but this time from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s cross.
Ben Davies was excellent too in his cameo with Japhet Tanganga. They pushed further for more goals while also performing their defensive duties with utmost dedication. Overall, it was an excellent performance from an excellent team.
Marseille played with a similar formation as that of Spurs. A win in the first game is always a confidence booster and Conte will be happy with the three points.
This gives us a bit of leeway in our games against Sporting CP and Eintracht Frankfurt, but it is always better to get the business done early and take a breather in the last couple of matchday in the UCL group stages once qualification is assured.
More Tottenham News:
- Antonio Conte claims Marseille clash impacts Tottenham Hotspur’s team selection for Manchester City tie
- Harry Kane sends message to Richarlison after brace in Tottenham Hotspur’s win vs Marseille
- Chelsea tried to hijack Richarlison’s transfer to Tottenham Hotspur by using Thiago Silva
But, celebrations will have to live short. There is still a lot of work to do, with the next task a daunting one. Spurs travel to face champions Manchester City this Saturday and this could be a blockbuster of a game.
