Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Antonio Conte reveals Liverpool factor which threatened to disturb Tottenham rhythm

Antonio Conte of Tottenham

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte spoke about the Anfield atmosphere as having an impact on his players during their 1-1 draw with Liverpool.

The north London outfit kept their Champions League qualification hopes alive by sharing the spoils with Liverpool on Merseyside. Heung-min Son reached 20 Premier League goals for the first time in his career when he put Tottenham in front.

The South Korean forward was given an easy finish after some nice work from Harry Kane and then Ryan Sessegnon.

But a deflected shot from Luis Diaz – which hit Rodrigo Bentancur on its way in – helped Liverpool to get level.

The match ended 1-1, as neither side could penetrate the opposition defence for the second time.

During a post-match interview with BT Sport (via BBC Sport), Conte revealed how his Tottenham side had to overcome the imposing Anfield crowd.

“It is not easy to play Liverpool at the moment, especially away with this atmosphere,” he said. “For my players, it was difficult to have a lot of noise around them.

“We have to be happy because we played a good game; we paid great attention defensively and caused problems in attack. We had chances.

“It is a pity because the players are disappointed, but they showed great desire. It is not simple to play against us.

“We need to recover, it was a physical game; Liverpool play every three days, to have this energy is incredible.

“But my team had a great energy. [Arsenal] is an important game because we are still in the race for the Champions League.”

Son ‘proud’ with draw at Anfield

During a post-match interview with BT Sport, goalscorer Son said: “It was a big game; Anfield is obviously not easy. It is a big point, but gutted we didn’t make it at the end.

“Liverpool is one of the best teams in the world at the moment, sometimes we need to defend and we did well today.

“This was our game plan and we could do better with the ball. We have space to improve.

“We work at attacking as a team. We know where to run, which player will be free. This was perfect for our game plan, I am proud but it should be more. I’m exhausted, this is one of the toughest games I’ve ever played.

“Obviously [the Champions League race] is more important than my goals; I try to help the team. If we win, I don’t have to score. I want to play in the Champions League and this is clear in our minds.”

READ MORE: Lucas Moura, Steven Bergwijn among eight Tottenham sales in bid to satisfy Antonio Conte overhaul plans