Antonio Conte has admitted that the intensity with which his stars played until the final whistle against Everton was particularly pleasing for him, given that they were involved in a Champions League clash a couple of days before.
Everton defended in a low block and made it difficult for Tottenham to create chances in the first half, with the away side also having two big opportunities on the break.
However, Spurs put in an extremely accomplished display after the interval, not only creating plenty of opportunities but also controlling proceedings, both in terms of possession and territory.
After Harry Kane converted from the spot against his England teammate Jordan Pickford, it was Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who put the game to bed in the 86th minute after he made a run into the box and was picked out by his midfield partner Rodrigo Bentancur.
When asked if he was pleased to see his two midfielders break forward in the final minutes of the game despite their exertions against Eintracht Frankfurt, Conte told Football.London: “Yeah, (laughs).
“I was not surprised but for sure to see the intensity that we played with tonight in this game it was for me really positive because it means that if you work and you work in the right way then the performance of your players is always up.
“We played only two days and a half ago but I have seen my players run from the start to the end, to press and show high intensity. I’m really delighted, especially for the players because these performances are repaying the effort that they put in every day that they do in the training session.”
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The win against the Toffees means that Spurs sit on 23 points from their first ten league matches – the most the club have ever accumulated in the Premier League era (Tottenhamhotspur.com).
When informed of this stat, Conte responded: “I didn’t honestly know that [it was the best start]. Before the game people told me that if we won it would be the best start for Tottenham. For me it was the same because for me it’s vital to play and get three points, then I’m happy. If I don’t win I’m not happy. To have this good start is positive.
“It’s important because it means we’re working well with the players and the club. We’re doing everything with common sense in my opinion. We know each other and our possibilities. We have to continue in this way and for sure I’m really happy for our fans because when you play and you have around you this atmosphere. The fans push you from the start until the end and they sing your names, it makes us proud and they give us a lot of push to give more and more for this club.”
Spurs Web Opinion
In many ways, I thought our second-half performance against Everton was our best half of the season, including the matches against Southampton and Fulham earlier in the campaign.
Not only did we create chances but we completely controlled proceedings and did not look in any danger of conceding a goal at any point in the second 45 minutes.
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