According to Spurs attacker Dejan Kulusevski, Antonio Conte was not happy with the team after their first-half display against Wolves in the Premier League at the weekend, and didn’t hesitate to show that frustration to the players.
Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed a strong start to the season when it comes to getting points on the board, with two wins and a draw from their opening three matches leaving the North London club in fourth place in the Premier League table.
The manner in which those points have been acquired, however, is up for debate. Spurs have started slowly in each of the three fixtures so far, conceding first against Southampton and Chelsea.
Against Wolves in the early kick-off on Saturday, it was a similar story, with Spurs on the back foot for much of the first half. Luckily, Wolves couldn’t capitalise on their dominance, and Tottenham came out fighting in the second half to claim the three points.
Swedish attacker Dejan Kulusevski was integral in the win, as one of the key players who took the game to Wolves in that second half. In an interview with Football.London, Kulusevski revealed what Conte’s reaction was like at half-time.
He said: “He [Conte] was angry, but we were all angry at ourselves. Early in the game, we didn’t wake up, we didn’t play good. We played a little bit with fear. We have to improve.”
“We have a good team like we showed in the second half, but we have to show that from the first minute. We have a lot of improvement to do.
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“I feel that for sure [that’s a game Spurs might not have won last season]. I think even if we’re not playing at the top level everybody, we’re still winning. That’s very important.”
“We have to win. It doesn’t matter how you play, you have to win. It was a very good result, and we’re very happy.”
Spurs Web Opinion
You can’t blame Conte for being angry at the players after the turgid first-half display against Wolves, and it’s a worrying pattern that’s emerged from the first three games.
You would hope that once the players kick into gear, that will all change, and hopefully, that happens sooner rather than later.
Still, to get three points from a tough game and a lacklustre performance is something that the top sides have to do from time to time, and it shows a massive improvement from where Spurs were last season.
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