Tottenham came from behind to defeat Leeds on Super Sunday as goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Sergio Reguilon cancelled out Daniel James' opener; Antonio Conte galvanised his players and fans with his own passionate touchline performance
Monday 22 November 2021 10:09, UK
Antonio Conte admits you "either have passion or you don't" as the Italian made no apologies for his animated behaviour during Tottenham's 2-1 comeback win over Leeds on Super Sunday.
The charismatic Italian masterminded a second-half turnaround as Spurs moved seventh in the Premier League courtesy of goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Sergio Reguilon to cancel out Daniel James' opener at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It came after an abject opening period in which the hosts once more failed to register a shot on target as Marcelo Bielsa devised the perfect game plan to frustrate Conte and his players.
Leeds were worn down in the second half, however, and having marked his first Premier League home game in charge of Tottenham with a win, Conte says he will look to instil greater passion in all departments at his new club in order to bring about consistent results.
"I have a great passion and I want to transfer it in all the environment," he said. "When it comes to passion, you either have it or you don't.
"This win is very important because we struggled today. We played two different games and they beat us on the tactical aspect in the first half. To play against Leeds and against Bielsa is not easy. We must be satisfied. This is only a point from which to start for the rest of the season.
After the first half, the fans weren't satisfied with the football and I agreed with them. In the second, we changed totally. I changed the plan tactically but they then played well and with personality.
"I said to the players that we have a lot of space for improvement and I'm pleased as many were involved today. [Harry] Winks struggled in the first half but played with personality in the second. [Ryan] Sessegnon coming on was also important so it's right to celebrate with passion.
"We celebrated the win because I think that it was difficult and we knew this. I read the stats of Leeds and they were the first to bring high intensity. In the first half, we struggled a lot because they played better than us, they won tackles and they led the game. We conceded possession too much.
"In the second half, we changed the plan tactically and we started to put pressure in every area of the pitch. We created chances to score and maybe we deserved to score more goals. For sure it's an important win because we needed this.
"After the first half, the fans weren't satisfied with the football and I agreed with them. In the second, we changed it totally. I changed the plan tactically but they then played well and with personality.
"We created difficulties for Leeds in the second half and to win in this way is good as I bring with me and my players two different situations - the first half and the second half."
The arrival of Conte has stopped the rot for Spurs, avoiding a third straight top-flight defeat in his opening league game prior to the international break at Everton.
The next target is to get Harry Kane scoring again in the Premier League after he fired another blank on Sunday, but Conte is refusing to set any specific European aspirations - at least in public.
He added: "For sure we want to fight and try to improve the position in the table. I must be honest and say that in England the league is very difficult and every game is tough. You can lose points against all the teams.
"At the moment, there are four teams that for many reasons - working with the same coaches or having invested a lot of money - there is a gap to four teams but I'm not scared about this.
"I trust in my players and in this squad. We want to fight to stay close and fight for the Champions League. Then, if there is one team that slips in this season or makes mistakes, we must be there to try to do our best."
There was a sense of what might have been for Leeds, who could have easily gone 2-0 up before faltering in the final 30 minutes.
Marcelo Bielsa was without key men Raphinha and Rodrigo, but he refused to blame their absence for the loss.
"We can't ignore the importance of those two players, we tried to dominate the opponent with the players we had," Bielsa said.
"So to justify the performance with the players we had absent, given that we managed to play 60 minutes with us being better, weakens the argument that the absences were the reason for the result.
"The final 30 minutes of the game was difficult for us, the game presented a difficulty that I saw clearly. And in the end we didn't solve the problems and my task is to see the problem and solve it and I didn't manage to do that.
"To have used so many variants isn't good, because there weren't enough minutes for the players to get used to the changes."
Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp:
"Against a massively understrength Leeds side they had to win today and they've put themselves right back in the mix for the top four.
"They're going to have confidence, you can see the passion he brings to a football club, it's incredible, and Spurs fans are going to buy into that, and the players will. He will coach them to within an inch of their life to get them to where he wants them to be.
"They're right in the mix. There are runners, Man Utd, West Ham, Spurs, Arsenal, Leicester. They're in the mix. Four points off top four. If they go and buy a few in January - and they've spoken about spending some money - if they do that I certainly think they'll be one of the runners because of Antonio Conte. Before him I'd have said no chance, with him I think they've got a great chance.
"It's going to take time, it's not going to happen automatically. But you've got a tactical genius. What he did when Chelsea won the league that year, changing from a four to a three, changed the mentality, got them winning - he got that team across the line by coaching them, cajoling them and getting them playing in a style and in an aggressive manner I didn't think they were capable of.
"That's what he's capable of. The fans and players have got to buy into it, get a couple of players in - they're one or two players short still - but if they invest in January there's no reason… because fourth place is up for grabs.
"If you give Antonio the licence to bring in the players he wants, I believe he can get this place really going. Tottenham are right in there. I believe they'll improve game in game out by getting used to the system.
"It's going to be hard work. This is going to be drilled every day to play the system he wants. If they listen and if they learn there's no reason why they can't."
Tottenham face NS Mura in the Europa Conference League on Thursday at 5.45pm before returning to Premier League action on Sunday against Burnley at Turf Moor; kick-off 2pm.
Leeds visit Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday Night Football live on Sky Sports; kick-off 5.30pm.
