Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Conte explains why Tottenham could not break down 10-man Saints; reveals injury to another star

Antonio Conte Southampton v Tottenham

Antonio Conte has revealed why he thinks Tottenham failed to break down a stubborn Southampton defence, despite the home side being reduced to 10-men in the first half.

Spurs were frustrated by VAR as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw at St Mary’s. They had two second-half goals controversially ruled out as they chased the three points after Harry Kane’s penalty had earlier cancelled out James Ward-Prowse’s stunning opener for Saints.

Ward-Prowse found the far corner with a first-time effort in the 25th minute. However, Kane rifled in from the spot after Son Heung-min was chopped down by Mohammed Salisu, who was shown a red card.

It was all Spurs after the break and Kane saw a goal cancelled out for offside which did not look obvious on VAR. Referee Anthony Taylor then adjudged Fraser Forster to have been fouled when he dropped the ball under an innocuous challenge from Matt Doherty.

Spurs had other chances through Doherty and Bryan Gil but they had to settle for a draw which sees them miss the chance to close the gap on fourth-placed Arsenal.

Still, avoiding defeat means that Conte becomes the first manager in Tottenham’s history not to lose any of his first seven league games and they are undoubtedly heading in the right direction under the Italian.

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And speaking at his press conference after the game, Conte said: “I think both [good defending and struggling to break them down]. They defended very well.

“To find space it wasn’t easy. At the same time we can do much better. To move the ball more quickly and find the one we want.

“I think to play after 48 hours is not easy for every team.

“I think I have seen a bit of fatigue in my players. For this reason we make not the good decision in the last pass and the finish.”

Conte reveals Bergwijn injury blow

Conte also revealed that forward Steven Bergwijn missed the Saints clash through injury.

He added: “Steven is injured. During the game against Crystal Palace he felt a problem with his calf and together he’s injured with Lo Celso, Romero and Sessegnon.

“They won’t be back for the weekend.”

Meanwhile, Eric Dier thinks the result needs to be kept in perspective after the improvements made under Conte.

He said: “Disappointed especially after they went down to 10 men. We’ve got to win the game and we couldn’t do that.

“They defended very well and fought for each other but that doesn’t matter from our side of it. We have to be able to break them down. We weren’t good enough at doing that.

“We’ve got to keep things in perspective. Everyone can see the progression.

“I’m enjoying learning how to play in this system.”

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