‘Every time’ – Conte admits Spurs struggle against ‘high-level’ teams
After an appalling defeat at Old Trafford, Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte admitted his team struggle against the top teams in the league.
Back-to-back wins and clean sheets in the Premier League had seen Tottenham get back on track after the disappointment of the North London derby defeat to Arsenal.
The 2-0 win against Everton at the weekend was particularly promising as Spurs dominated possession and limited the Toffees’ chances on goal.
It was the complete opposite against Manchester United though, with Spurs struggling to contain the home side’s barrage of attacks. Thanks to the heroics of Hugo Lloris in the Spurs goal, the game was goalless at halftime.
Spurs fell apart almost immediately in the second half though, and Manchester United came away with a 2-0 win after registering 28 shots on the Tottenham goal, controlling possession, and limiting the visitors to just one clear-cut chance all game (Sky Sports).
According to Antonio Conte in his post-match press conference, the defeat against United is symptomatic of Spurs’ inability to compete against the top teams in the Premier League, as reported by Jonathan Veal on Twitter.
Conte said: “I have to be honest and first of all with my players, this was not the first time for us this season. The table is good for us, but every time we play a high-level game we struggle. Against Chelsea they dominated the game, at Arsenal we lost, and today we lost.”
Similarly, Alasdair Gold asked Conte why he thinks the Spurs team are fearful against the bigger sides, and Conte said: “In this type of game you need to arrive and not make big mistakes.
“You need to arrive with the war inside of you, ready to fight a war and you need to know at the end of the game you die or your opponent died.
“From the start, we didn’t match this aspect. We can improve and we need to continue to work. It’s right with the club to analyse why when the level is very high, we are struggling.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While Tottenham have definitely improved when it comes to playing against so-called lesser opposition and have become very difficult to beat, there is a clear pattern of incompetency when it comes to taking on the other members of the ‘big six’.
Particularly on our travels, Spurs just do not look like they have a clue how to set up against the top teams, and consistently roll over in defeat against teams like Manchester United. This needs sorting out, and fast.
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