Chelsea players endured a chastening Sunday afternoon as they were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at Stamford Bridge for the first time since 1990.
The Blues took the lead through Alvaro Morata but Christian Eriksen’s screamer levelled things up just before half-time.
Dele Alli turned the game on its head when he scored twice in the space of a couple of minutes after the break. The midfielder controlled an exquisite cross from Eric Dier and finished past Willy Caballero, before scoring the second to silence the Blues.
The result leaves Chelsea eight points behind Tottenham. Here is what Conte had to say after losing to Spurs.
“My reaction… I think that the performance has been good, especially in the first half. I think we played good football, scored only one goal but deserved to finish the first half 2-0 or 3-0,” Conte told in his post-match press conference, as quoted by Football.London.
“Instead we conceded a goal in the last minute of the first half, and that created a bit of problems in our mind.”
“We lost a bit of confidence. But, despite this, in the second half we started the game very well. Then we conceded a goal that you can avoid. It was a free ball and I think we made a mistake.
“Also the third goal, you have to kick the ball into the stand, not concede this goal. But the season is going in this way. Now we have to try and do our best until the end.”
The loss to Spurs has resulted in a big blow to Chelsea’s hopes of finishing in the top four. When asked about our chances of finishing in the top-four, our gaffer added:
“I don’t know, I don’t know. On the one hand, we must be realistic and understand the teams that stay ahead of us are going very fast, at great speed. Today we had a great chance to close the gap with Tottenham and we lost this chance.”
“On the other hand, we have to know that, until the end, we have to try and do our best. To try in these seven games to do everything and try to take a place in the Champions League. But it won’t be easy. We must know this.”
The Italian also insisted that he is not worried about his future.
“No, I’m not worried. Honestly. I think that I’m giving – the players are giving – everything this season. We are working very hard to try to have a good season, but I think that, in the end, we are deserving this season. It means that our value is this,” he explained.
It has been a frustrating season for Conte and co. where things have just not gone the right way. The Blues have failed to gather any momentum since the start of 2018, resulting in the poor run of results.
With seven games left in the Premier League, Conte’s men have to put everything on the line and try their very best to secure a top-four spot. It is indeed a tough objective to attend as we have fallen eight points below 4th-placed Tottenham but hard work and a bit of luck can certainly help us get Champions League football next season.