Antonio Conte believes Liverpool defeat was ‘unfair’ but reveals what ‘satisfied’ him

Jason Soutar
Antonio Conte during a match

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte says he feels his side’s home defeat to Liverpool was an “unfair” result.

The Reds took all three points in the capital thanks to Mohamed Salah’s first-half double.

Spurs started slowly and had an uphill battle going into the second 45 minutes.

It has been a theme this season for Spurs to struggle early on in matches before coming to life in the second half.

They came from behind to beat Bournemouth last week before doing the exact same against Marseille in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Despite the fact his side left with nothing, Conte has praised the performance of his players.

“Tonight is very difficult to explain this defeat,” he told BBC Match of the Day. “Because in the first half I didn’t have a lot to complain about with my players because of their will and desire.

“Their will to fight, be aggressive and fight in the first half.

“We scored in the second half and I think we deserved much more from this game.

“But we have to know when we play against this type of team, a top match, a top game, we have to have motivation. I can’t complain about my players.

“I go to my house satisfied for the performance and the chances we created.

“Honestly, we are managing with many injuries, half and half.

“It is good to have this type of performance because we know we have to fight until the end to do well but it’s a pity tonight.

“I repeat about the performance, I am really happy for what I have seen.

“Our fans despite the defeat, they have to enjoy the game for the will, the desire, for how we played the game.

“We had the possibility to put pressure onto Liverpool and we did.

“We tried to press and then a long ball comes in and we concede the second goal.

“We did well with the game plan that we prepared but now we are talking about a bad defeat.

“I don’t know if it’s positive to win badly or to lose playing well but we lost the game.”

Conte added to Sky Sports that the hard work his players put in ‘satisfied’ him.

“It is difficult to explain the defeat tonight, we deserved much more but also after the first half in the dressing room I was happy with the desire and what we did,” he said.

“We put a lot of pressure on Liverpool and were 2-0 down but we didn’t know why. In the second half we played really well.

“Their goalkeeper made good saves and we hit the post and the crossbar. I think the result is unfair.

“It is difficult to explain this type of game. For sure the performance was good. We are managing a situation with many, many injuries and we need to find new solutions.

“This type of performance against a team like Liverpool gives me satisfaction as it shows the hard work works.”

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