Tottenham boss Antonio Conte on why he stormed out after late winner - 'I thought I could have a heart attack'
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Updated 29/10/2022 at 20:15 GMT
A last-gasp winner from Tottenham's Rodrigo Bentancur failed to ignite the expected response from his manager Antonio Conte, who stormed straight down the tunnel following the late drama at Bournemouth. Spurs looked to be heading for a third successive Premier League defeat before their second-half fight back. “I thought in my mind and my heart that I could have a heart attack," said Conte.
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Tottenham boss Antonio Conte says he could have had "a heart attack" which is why he stormed down the tunnel at the Vitality Stadium, after seeing his side strike an injury-time winner to see off Bournemouth.
Spurs looked set to be heading for a third successive Premier League defeat when Kieffer Moore netted his brace with 49 minutes gone to make it 2-0 to the hosts.
Ryan Sessegnon sparked a comeback eight minutes later and Ben Davies levelled the scores a short while later, before Rodrigo Bentancur grabbed the winning goal two minutes into stoppage-time.
But rather than the wild celebrations from managers that usually greet such dramatic moments, Conte instead headed straight down the tunnel.
Explaining his reaction, the Tottenham boss told the press: “I came back when I knew the goal was regular.
“I thought in my mind and my heart that I could have a heart attack because in two days to score and then have a goal disallowed.
“I said I go down and then stay calm, and then I wait for the decision of the referee. But for sure, it was great to see the desire of my players and the reaction they had.
“This reaction was really positive, and I want this from my players.”
Of course, Conte was referring to Harry Kane’s disallowed goal in the 1-1 draw with Sporting on Wednesday following a lengthy VAR check – a result that leaves Tottenham needing a victory over Marseille on Tuesday to guarantee their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
“I think it was vital for us this win, especially after two losses in the Premier League, has given us enthusiasm and passion for going into Marseille and for playing a final,” Conte added.
“This game will be a final for us to go to the next round of the Champions League.”
Conte praised the attitude of his players, saying: “The only situation that I ask of my players is that we are to show more personality and take more responsibility because this game was on us.
“I think in the second half, despite conceding the second goal, we started to play nasty, with a will and desire to hurt the opponent. To not only move the ball and show 'look, we are good and so nice' but in an effective way.
"We created many chances to score and at the end, we won the game in a difficult stadium because Bournemouth is a really good team.”
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