Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte gives Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison update after Nottingham Forest loss
Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski were second-half substitutes as Tottenham Hotspur lost to Nottingham Forest in the third-round EFL Cup fixture at City Ground on Wednesday (9 November). Manager Antonio Conte would obviously be upset.
He played a very strong squad for the game and yet we lost 2-0. Speaking after the game (h/t official Tottenham Hotspur website), Conte cited tiredness and fixture congestion as the main reasons behind our loss.
However, he was upbeat about Richarlison and Kulusevski’s fitness status ahead of the Premier League clash against Leeds United on 12 November. The Brazil international, who will travel to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and Kulusevski both came on for the last 30 minutes of the game.
“For sure, there is big disappointment for the result, the loss. The positive thing tonight was to see Richarlison again and Deki. I think they are ready for the game on Saturday against Leeds. This is good news for us.”
Kulusevski had missed 10 games for us across competitions before making his return in the 2-1 league loss to Liverpool. Richy had been out ever since his injury in the 2-0 win against Everton.
The duo could not impact the game positively. We lost via goals from Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard and did not look like a team that deserved to win.
It was deserved elimination for us and one that is truly a blow in terms of our chances of winning silverware this season. The EFCL Cup was the last trophy we won – going all the way back to 2008.
Premier League seems to be out of our reach with Arsenal and Manchester City setting the pace, while the UEFA Champions League is always a massively tough competition to win.
We spent well on our squad this summer and brought in big names such as Richarlison and Ivan Perisic to add depth to the squad. But it seems we are still short-handed on many occasions.
More Tottenham Hotspur News:
- Antonio Conte reveals why Tottenham star Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was taken off at half-time
- Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Moura and Emerson Royal left out of Brazil squad; Richarlison included
- Tottenham Hotspur star Dejan Kulusevski says he can ‘finally sleep’ after return from injury vs Liverpool
An attacker, a world-class midfielder who can create chances, and a centre-back in January would be the dream for Spurs fans. They would surely see squad reinforcement as a necessary thing if Spurs are to compete with giants like Man City for titles.
