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What Antonio Conte said of Tottenham’s dying minute win over Watford.

Updated: Jan 2, 2022

Colombia centre-half Sanchez nodded in Son Heung-min's cross as Antonio Conte Spurs boosted their chances for a top-four finish.

Spurs are unbeaten in eight Premier League games under Antonio Conte
Spurs are unbeaten in eight Premier League games under Antonio Conte

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte was satisfied with his Lilywhites’ attitude ‘from start to finish’ in their Premier League clash against Watford on Saturday. Spurs secured a narrow win over the Hornets, thanks to defender Davidson Sanchez’s 96th-minute header.


Sanchez nodded in Son Heung-min's free-kick as Antonio Conte extended his unbeaten league start with the north London club, who climbed to fifth in the English top-flight table. The victory at Vicarage Road keeps Spurs’ quest for a Premier League top-four place alive, and reduces the gap to fourth-placed Arsenal to two points, having played two games fewer than their north London rivals.

The game was paused in the closing stages because of a medical emergency in the crowd, leading to eight minutes of stoppage time.


However, a delighted Conte said his team must ‘improve the final pass.’

The Tottenham boss said on BBC’s Match of the Day: "The performance was positive because from the start until the end we controlled the game and when you have this type of game it is very important to score because then your opponent has to change and you can find more space.

"We were very good to attack, to create chances, but in this game when you attack, attack and don't score, sometimes you can lose the game on the counter-attack. "We have to improve the last pass, in the first half it was 29 crosses and 0 goals, it is important for us to improve the quality in the last pass because that gives you the possibility to score. "To play so many games in a few days is not easy, this was the fifth game in 13 days and if you think we played almost with the same players, this period is busy but at the same time we try to get a result because it is very important, three points is very important. "You can dominate the game, control the game, but then you move the ball and when we arrive and there is the opportunity to do the last pass, this pass means that you can score. We need to improve the quality in this situation, we have space for improvement, the players have to improve also in this situation." When asked if Tottenham will be active in the January transfer window, the Italian said: "Honestly, when Tottenham have taken me in charge, we decided and I asked time to make my evaluation about the squad, now I did and for sure we will have a meeting with the club. "It is important always, to be honest, to understand where we are at in this moment, which is our point of start, and then I will see. January is not simple, but maybe we will see what happens. "We have to continue to work in this way and these players are giving me everything, great commitment, and trust - the best buy in January is to continue this way. Then we will see what are our intentions."

'We are working to keep pushing'

Colombia centre-half Sanchez scored a late goal to boost Spurs’ chance for a top four finish.
Colombia centre-half Sanchez scored a late goal to boost Spurs’ chance for a top four finish.

Match-winner Sanchez told Sky Sports ‘they are working to keep pushing.’


"The goal, that was what we were looking for, not just myself, the fans, the team, the result we are happy for. I am happy to be here the way we are doing, he said. "It was very physical coming to play here, they always make it hard to play against, but we had the intention from the beginning to keep pushing for a result. "If we opened the game earlier it would become a different game. Crystal Palace, second half we created many chances but a bit unlucky in the final third, Southampton before the goal we missed the last pass. Finally, we got it, we are working very well to keep pushing." On his thoughts about the medical incident in the crowd that led to a long delay before the goal, he said: "Hopefully they solved the problem and the person is healthy and recovering with their family."



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