Two Spurs managers, one new and one old, had a similar and yet different night at the same time. Antonio Conte managed to win against Vitesse in the Conference League in his first game in charge, while Jose Mourinho failed to win (again) against Norwegian Bodo/Glimt, this time at home. And while Italian had a better night, since he recorded the win after all, he probably had the same filling during the match as Mourinho in Rome – irregular heartbeats due to his team’s performance. Five goals and three red cards in Conte’s debut, Mourinho nearly lost to Bodo againSpurs led 3-0 after 28 minutes, but in the 39th minute it was already 3-2, and the referee also gave three red cards, first of which was for Tottenham, meaning Conte had to look at his team who struggled defensively and also had to defend the lead. But the Italian seems to think that suffering is sometimes a good thing. “We conceded two avoidable goals, went down to 10 men and anything could happen after that. I made changes and we did well to take the result home. I am glad we won while suffering, I think this team needs to suffer a little to achieve victory, to understand you can win while suffering. It was a game we had to win, as without that we’d have very little chance of qualifying. There are two matches to go, but I also think this performance highlighted the difficulties of a team that was 3-0 up and dominating with more chances to score, then it took so little to knock our confidence” Conte told Sky Sport Italia. Antonio Conte takes some time to greet Spurs fans after his first game in charge 🤝#UECL pic.twitter.com/ltbYiqmbGp— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 4, 2021 The Italian found out everything he wanted to know about his team in last night’s game with Vitesse. And he wants to start working as soon as possible. “There is a lot of work to be done. There is real margin for improvement. We need to work tactically, physically, bring my ideas of football to this team. The problem is that we don’t have the time to work, as we play again in two days and then there’s the break for international duty. The lads are really eager to work, it’s a wonderful atmosphere, I thank the fans for giving me such a great welcome. Playing in this atmosphere is marvellous and I want to repay this affection in the only way I know how, but working. I know that I must be patient and find the time to get this work done” said the Italian. Mourinho:“Look, the referee has to explain, but they don’t speak, He was then asked what the referee did wrong. “Come on, you know it, no?” he replied, before insisting,“No, tell me. Tell me what you saw.” “Not even on the screen? You didn’t watch it after the game? “Of course.” pic.twitter.com/Abnkoc1TXv— Scoreboard Digest (@scoreboarddg) November 5, 2021 And while Conte moved to London, there is nothing new in his homeland. Mourinho played with his strongest team but still failed to win against Bodo/Glimt. In fact, the guests were leading on two occasions, and Roma had to come back twice in order to avoid a defeat. But, the Portuguese was more concentrated on the referees (as always). “The reality of the match is 2-2 with two very clear penalties. They got theirs very pragmatically – two shots, two goals. God knows how many shots we had and yet we end up with two goals. Two clear penalties, that’s right. The referee is now quietly returning home to Greece. I don’t know if it’s because there are people in the Conference League who start their careers internationally. In the first leg it was not the fault of the referees and I have not talked about it. Today, however, there were two clear penalties” said Mourinho after the match. cioè mi state dicendo che il 2-2 della roma è in fuorigioco e mourinho ha avuto il coraggio di fare il clown anche oggi pic.twitter.com/zNqE9kBZrW— giorgia (@notgiorgiab) November 4, 2021 Roma coach also talked about his team’s performance during the game, but also poor form, as Mourinho’s man recorded only one win in the last 6 games in all competition. “They played a great game. We made a lot of mistakes from a technical point of view, even in the first half and in the build-up. We lost so many balls in the middle of the pitch. We struggled offensively. In difficult situations the team respected the colors and played hard until the end. It’s not just up to us to finish first, but it’s up to us to finish second. The player who is better off right now is El Shaarawy. Shomurodov is also not in a moment of great confidence. We have lost a lot of points, however, partly due to the referees: look at the two matches against Juventus and Milan” pointed out the Portuguese.
