In the closing seconds of their 3-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday, Tottenham Hotspur coach Antonio Conte claimed his team needed to focus better.
Frankfurt took an early lead, but Spurs responded with two goals from Son Heung-min, each side of a Harry Kane penalty just before halftime.
Frankfurt had defender Tuta sent off after 60 minutes, but they came back with a goal late on as the game appeared to be dying down, and they pressed for a thrilling equalizer after Kane missed another penalty.
In the tense final minutes at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Conte yelled at his players to use their extra man to their advantage as his team held on for the victory and moved one win closer to the round of 16.
“To be honest, I sensed a threat (in the final minutes)… I tried to be involved, to yell at the players to stay focused and to safeguard the result since the win was really crucial to us “Conte told a press conference that he was out of breath.
“It’s unfortunate because, given what we did during the game, I believe we played a really nice game with a lot of fantastic combinations and we generated a lot of chances,” he continued.
“(But) anything might have occurred in the final section, so it needs to be a significant (lesson) for us to avoid next time and stay concentrated till the conclusion.”
Conte’s rage did not extend to Kane’s missed penalty, as he lauded the striker’s overall performance throughout the game, but he will be hoping he heals well for Saturday’s Premier League match against Everton.
“We’re talking about a player that has a hard time missing penalties. He’s a murderer. I believe he was also exhausted towards the end of today’s game because he runs a lot for the team and played fantastically today “According to the Italian coach.
“He scored, which is great news for us and Sonny. Now that the game is over, we have a terrific win and are leading our group. We must concentrate on the Premier League since we face a difficult game against Everton.”