Antonio Conte’s style will have Tottenham’s rivals worried, says pundit
Gary Neville says Tottenham’s performance against Liverpool on Sunday will “strike a little bit of fear” into their top-four rivals.
Spurs look transformed under Antonio Conte as they played their part in a wonderful 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the capital. Conte’s men could have earned more than a point too, after missing a string of good chances against a Liverpool side without Virgil van Dijk. And Neville believes Spurs, who are six points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, can make the top four this season.
Conte’s men, who have won three and draw two under the Italian coach, do have three games in hand on the Gunners.
Neville was left raving over the game, which saw Harry Kane and Son Heung-min score for Spurs with Diogo Jota and Andy Robertson, who was sent off, net for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
The former Manchester United man told his podcast that “it was a game of chicken” and that “both sides came out on top”.
“He’s a great manager, you can see the influence he’s had on this group. The energy compared to how they were before, the stadium is electric, and it was brilliant in here all the way through the game,” Neville told his Sky Sports Podcast.
“You can see him on the touchline. The emotions. He cares passionately and is desperate to win.
“He’ll be disappointed with the chances missed because I think he set up his team perfectly, but also proud and realise he’s got a good group of players here. We started to question that over the last 12-18 months
“Were this team over the hill and were they spent under Mauricio Pochettino and as good as it can get? But they’ve shown a performance today that can tell us they can really be competitive and push for the top four.
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‘Game of chicken’
“It will strike a little bit of fear into Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, West Ham. And all the others with aspirations to be up there. This Tottenham team are going to be real in the next four to five months.
“What I’ve just seen here today is something special. People going into Christmas worried about making sure they can see their families, worried about potential further restrictions. That will have boosted them this afternoon. It has boosted me and everyone in this stadium.
“The fans leaving here will have seen something special. I don’t say that lightly, it’s a 2-2 draw midway through the season with no trophies at stake. But the group of players, managers, coaching staff have delivered a real spectacle.
“Everything I want the Premier League to be. Fast. End-to-end. Tactical as well. It was a game of chicken in some ways, but they both came out on top.”
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