Sat 07 May 2022, 23:00
Tottenham HotspurAntonio Conte asked the players to be brave at Anfield, to show courage and personality - they delivered it all in a fine performance and 1-1 draw against Liverpool on Saturday evening.
Indeed, it’s a measure of the team’s progress in the second half of the season that the players were slightly disappointed not to come away with victory, not least with chances late in the game and the nature of Liverpool’s equaliser, as Luis Diaz’s shot took a deflection off Rodrigo Bentancur and zipped into the corner, leaving Hugo Lloris helpless.
Earlier, Heung-Min Son tapped home a classic counter, Harry Kane sliding in Ryan Sessegnon who squared for the South Korean to score his 20th Premier League goal of the season – the first time he’s hit 20 in a league campaign in his career. That was on 56 minutes, Diaz struck on 74 and we had late chances, Ben Davies fizzed just over and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg found himself meeting Emerson Royal’s cross six yards out in the fourth minute of added time, but looked to head across to Kane, and Liverpool cleared.
It was put to Antonio that the likes of Eric Dier and Davies had hinted at a touch of disappointment, and speaking to Spurs TV, he said: “It’s a good signal, because the players understood, they felt on the pitch that at the end, we lost the chance to get three important points.
“At the same time, I think they have to be delighted with the performance. I asked before the game for them to be strong defensively, to pay great attention, and we prepared the game really well, in my opinion. It was a pity to concede a goal from a deflection.
“Also, I asked with the ball to be brave, to show courage and personality, and every time we did this, we created problems for Liverpool. We have to try to continue to improve with the ball. It’s not easy to overcome the Liverpool pressure, but every time we did this, we created big problems for Liverpool.
“This group of players has improved a lot, in many aspects. Otherwise, you don’t come here to Anfield, a lot of noise, and have a good performance, solid, calm, we never lost our composure.
“This is the first step to become a really good team. You have to be stable and to overcome this exam at Anfield is important for us. I’m pleased there is a little disappointment in their eyes, because it means we’re on the right way.”
