Conte unafraid of fight for top-four spot
TOTTENHAM manager Antonio Conte is “not scared” about the challenge of competing for Champions League qualification after earning his first Premier League win in charge.
The Italian saw his new side put an abject first-half performance behind them to beat Leeds 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, closing the gap to the top four to just four points.
Spurs were booed off at half time after Dan James had given the Yorkshire team a 1-0 lead, but they responded after the break and won it through goals from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Sergio Reguilon.
The manner of the first-half display showed what a task Conte has to get Spurs challenging, but the former
Chelsea boss says his side have to get into a position to strike if one of their rivals make a mistake.
“We want to fight, we want to improve the position in the table,” he said. “I think – and I must be honest – in England the league is very, very difficult. Every game is tough. We can lose points with every team.
“At this moment, there are four teams that for many reasons, because they are working with the same coach, they invested a lot of money, at this moment there are four teams and there is a gap. I’m not scared about this.
“I trust in my players, I trust in my squad. We want to fight, we want to fight to stay close and fight for Champions League.
“Then if there’s one team that slips up this season or makes mistakes, we must be there to try to do our best.”
One of those top teams, Manchester City, showed the problem facing Conte, with a 3-0 victory over lacklustre Everton,
Raheem Sterling scored his first Premier League goal since August, Rodri added a stunning second and Bernardo Silva a late third as Pep Guardiola’s side responded to convincing victories by title rivals Chelsea and Liverpool on Saturday with a dominant display of their own.
Guardiola was delighted for Sterling. “He needed that and in the first half he was an important player,” he said. “He scored a brilliant goal, from an exceptional pass from Joao [Cancelo] again. He made a good game in a difficult one, because they defended really well.”