Emerson Royal has revealed that Chelsea were the toughest side he has faced since his move to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.
After a nervy start to his Spurs career, Emerson has impressed over the last couple of months and is showing signs of settling into the Premier League.
The Brazilian has seemingly made the right-wing-back spot in Antonio Conte’s system his own.
The 22-year-old has now opened up on his first few months in North London and admitted that Chelsea were the most impressive team he faced after the Blues beat Spurs 3-0 in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in September.
When asked who his toughest opponents were, the Spurs defender told Brazilian YouTube channel Camisa 21 (as translated by Sport Witness): “I think Chelsea. We played against Chelsea here, their coach is very smart too.
“In the first half, we were superior in some parts of the game. The second half came and he put a little engine there called Kante.
“That’s when the game totally changed. Chelsea are a team that attack very well and defend very well.
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Emerson also picked Chelsea star Romelu Lukaku as the toughest player he has come up against in the English top-flight so far.
He said: “Lukaku. My God. Very strong, very strong, very smart.”
With Palmeiras potentially set to go up against Chelsea in the Club World Cup, Emerson does not feel the Brazilian side will have much of a chance against Thomas Tuchel’s men.
He added: “To play the 90 minutes with Chelsea’s intensity, it’s a little difficult.”
Emerson also spoke about Tottenham’s 3-1 defeat in the North London Derby at the Emirates back in September, admitting that the Lilywhites could have got a better result in the match.
When asked if the atmosphere in the derby was different, he responded: “In this game, I started on the bench. We took 3-0 in the first half. Then, during the break, the coach called me.
“It was 3-1, we had a ball on the post and we lost two chances face to face. It was a game that we could still have won.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Our results in London derbies were shocking under Nuno Espirito Santo and Tottenham’s poor performances in those matches were ultimately why the Portuguese coach lost the majority of Spurs fans. Hopefully, we can put those results right in the second half of the season under Conte.
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