Antonio Conte’s first return to Chelsea ended in a 2-0 defeat as the Lilywhites looked toothless in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final clash at Stamford Bridge.
Antonio Conte returned with his much-improved side but was dealt with a reality check at his previous home ground.
Antonio Conte has made it clear that his Tottenham Hotspur side are not on the same wavelength as Chelsea FC.
The Lilywhites were beaten 2-0 in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, thanks to Kai Harvetz’s early strike and an own-goal from Ben Davies.
Tottenham have never won an away game in the League Cup against the Blues, drawing one and suffering four defeats in their past visits to Stamford Bridge.
However, after Conte was given a reality check at his previous home ground, he told Sky Sports: “It was a difficult game, difficult from the start, Chelsea showed to be much better than us.
“The first half, we struggled a lot from the start but we know that we are talking about one of the best teams in Europe, in the world, last season they won the Champions League. If you compare the two teams there is no comparison. We are talking about a team ready to win - today we have seen the difference between the two teams. “It is not easy to play at Stamford Bridge, the way they were very concentrated, they won the ball every time and then we conceded also a goal we were unlucky. When you start the game and after a few minutes they score, for sure the game becomes very difficult. “But, I know the situation, it is very clear at this moment there is an important gap. We have to try to fight to stay in the league in a good position, but if we think we are close, I think we are not in the right way.”
Conte: A lot of work to be done. We need time and patience.
The Italian added: “There is a lot of jobs to do, at this moment, it is very difficult to understand which part you take to improve because there is a lot of situations to improve. We need time and patience. Everyone has to have patience because Tottenham in the last years the level has dropped a lot and now we have to fight to win every game.
“I started my experience with Tottenham and every game we have fought, and now we struggle to win the game, it wasn’t a game you could say it was easy.
“We have to be humble, to understand the situation at the moment and continue to work to improve our players, then we will see. It is not simple to say go in the transfer market, in January it won’t be easy and now the most important thing is to be focused and work to improve.
“The results in the league were good, we reached the semi-final in Carabao Cup, and for Tottenham at this moment that is a good target.
“I am always very honest with my players, we have to clap the performance of Chelsea. I like to tell the truth and with a good lie, you don’t go anywhere. They showed to be a really good team, much better than us.
“We have to try to change this situation, slowly, slowly. It is impossible to change the situation in one or two transfer markets.
“There is a lot of jobs to do in Tottenham and we need a lot of time. It is important for patience and I have to have for me also to have patience.”
Follow Think Football Ideas across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Comments