‘He was really really tired’ – Conte defends Harry Kane for penalty miss

Antonio Conte has defender Harry Kane for his late penalty miss against Eintracht Frankfurt, with the Spurs boss suggesting that the striker was running on empty towards the end of the game.

Although Tottenham came away with all three points against Frankfurt, the final few minutes were much nervier than they should have been after the German side managed to pull a goal back from a set-piece in the 87th minute, despite being a man down.

The home side had squandered several chances earlier in the game but they were handed another golden opportunity to put the game to bed when the referee pointed to the spot in stoppage time after Bryan Gil was fouled in the box.

However, Kane uncharacteristically blasted the ball over the bar. Fortunately, it did not end up costing Spurs, who managed to hold on to three points.

Conte has now insisted that the 29-year-old worked hard for the team and did not have much left in the tank in the final minutes of the game.

When asked about the striker’s missed penalty, the Tottenham head coach told Football.London: “You know we are talking about a player that is very difficult to miss penalties.

“He’s a killer and I think that also today, in the end, he was really really tired because he ran a lot.

“He played for the team and I think he played in a fantastic way today.
Harry scored and this is good news for us. Also, Sonny two goals and now I repeat this game ended.

“A good win, we are leading our group and now we need to be focused on the Premier League because we have a tough game against Everton at home.

“Three tough games before Sporting Lisbon, home against Everton, away against Manchester United and then against Newcastle.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Surprisingly, Kane has already missed two penalties this season, including the one against Nottingham Forest back in August. However, that is not worth getting too concerned about as the striker is mentally strong and not one to lose his confidence when he steps up to take a spot-kick next time.

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