Antonio’s verdict on City
Antonio Conte felt the first half performance at the Etihad was ‘perfect’ but couldn’t hide his disappointment after conceding four goals in the second half as Manchester City ran out 4-2 winners in the Premier League on Thursday evening.
We contained City well in that first period before bursting ahead with two goals in four minutes at the end of the half. First up, Dejan Kulusevski struck after the returning Rodrigo Bentancur forced Rodri to lose possession in his own box. Then, Emerson Royal nodded home after Ederson could only palm away Harry Kane’s fierce cross from the right.
As expected, City came out firing in the second half. Julian Alvarez pulled the first goal back on 50 minutes and it was soon 2-2 via Erling Haaland’s close-range header.
A big moment arrived shortly after as Ivan Perisic’s shot was deflected onto the post by Rico Lewis and minutes later, Riyad Mahrez fired home from a tight angle to hand City the lead. We had pushed the home side back onto the defensive searching for a late equaliser when Ederson’s long punt forward found Mahrez, who chipped home to make the game safe at 4-2.
Speaking to SPURSPLAY at the Etihad, Antonio said: “My thoughts are that we had a good performance. If I compare this performance with the performance of last season, I think tonight, we played better. But, to concede four goals is not usual. This is the first time for this team for this to happen. Usually, my team never concedes four goals, especially in only 45 minutes. In this aspect, I’m disappointed.
“On the other side, for sure, I have seen a team that in every moment tried to play with personality, give difficulty to Manchester City and, with more experience, I think we could manage the situation much better in the second half.
“I think in the first half, we were perfect, because we pressed high and put a lot of pressure, played with intensity and when we moved the ball, we created problems to Manchester City. Then, in the second half, for sure, to concede a goal after a few minutes was a disaster. At the same time, I repeat, to manage this situation you have to be calm, to pass this tough period, then start to play again. We are paying a lot this season, the same against Arsenal – we deserved more than to lose 2-0.”
Reflecting on Perisic’s shot that hit the woodwork at 2-2, Antonio added: “Before the game, I said that in this type of match, when you play against City, I repeat, one of the best teams in the world, to get a good result, you need to also be a bit lucky.
“Instead, we were a bit unlucky, because when the result was 2-2, we had a massive chance to score. I’m sure if we go 3-2, the situation changes totally and the mental situation changes totally because our belief would go up again, and the frustration for City could be a lot. But football is this, we have to accept and try to take the positives and try to improve.”