London, Nov 22
After a bland first-half performance which saw them a goal down, Tottenham responded to their new manager Antonio Conte’s half-time blast with a 2-1 win over Leeds.
It lifted them up the Premier League table to within four points of the top four position for a Champions League opportunity – a primary aim of the manager.
Conte, openly delighted with his first Premier League win with the new club, said: “We want to try to improve the position in the table and I must be honest and say that in England the league is very, very difficult and every game is very tough.
“You can lose points with all the teams and at this moment there are four teams who, for many reasons – because they are working with the same coaches and invested a lot of money – have a gap. I’m not scared about this and I trust in my players.”
He added: “After the first half our fans weren’t satisfied with the football we had played and I was agreeing with them. I changed the plan tactically but it was the players who played well, with personality, they ran, they put pressure on Leeds. To win in this way is good because I bring with me and also my players, two different situations – the first half and the second half.”
He went on to say: “I have great passion and I want to transfer my passion in all of this environment. You can have quality, organisation but the passion and heart, you have or you don’t have.”
Leeds were excellent in the first half while Spurs were nervous and sloppy. After the break the difference in their attitude was stark. Leeds took the lead on the stroke of half-time. Jack Harrison put in a lovely cross from the left and Daniel James beat Eric Dier to stroke the ball home.
Having lifted their game in the second half and playing with full commitment, Spurs equalised in the 58th minute. Harry Kane missed a diving header from a cross by Sergio Reguilon and the ball went to Lucas Moura who passed back from the six-yard box to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, to drive the ball inside the right post to the cheers of the fans who had booed the team at half time.
By this stage Spurs were in control and the balance of play had shifted totally to the home side. Eleven minutes after the equaliser, came the winning goal.
Liam Cooper gave away a free-kick with a foul on Moura. Dier took the shot which hit the bottom of the post after a deflection from the Leed’s wall and Reguilon was quick to pounce on the rebound to slot it home to the clear ecstasy of Conte and the fans.
Leeds dejected manager, Marcelo Bielsa, felt the second half didn’t go according to his plan. He said: “I started to see that problem. My task is to see that problem and solve it and I didn’t do this.”
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