"I couldn’t believe my eyes" - Pundit claims Antonio Conte made a huge mistake in Tottenham's Champions League win
Tottenham Hotspur expert John Wenham couldn't believe that Antonio Conte decided to play Harry Kane for the full 90 minutes against Eintracht Frankfurt on October 12.
Conte's team earned a 3-2 home win against the German club in the UEFA Champions League. Son Heung-Min netted a first-half brace and Kane converted from the spot for the north London side.
However, Wenham, a Spurs expert who runs the social media channel Lillywhite Rose, was not happy to see Kane not getting a rest in the game.
He told Football Insider:
"Frankfurt were trying to kick Harry out of the game and he played 90 minutes again, It was 3-1 on 60 minutes and we were facing 10 men. He still played the full game. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that Richarlison was the one who was coming off. He is the one, if you can afford for one of the three to get injured, it would be him because Kulusevski is going to be back for the Everton game."
Wenham further added:
"Lucas is back, we have options. I couldn’t believe it. I appreciate Richarlison plays a lot of minutes for Brazil but I really thought it was surprising when he came off and not Kane when you are leading 3-1.”
Kane has missed just 12 minutes of action this season for Tottenham in all competitions, when he was subbed in their 2-1 win over Fulham. He has scored nine goals and provided two assists in 13 matches.
After the win over Frankfurt, meanwhile, Tottenham sit at the top of their Champions League group with seven points in four matches.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte spoke about his team losing control in the second half
While Tottenham Hotspur were in firm control in the first half against Frankfurt, they let the game slip a bit during the second half.
Leading 3-1, they conceded from a corner that made up for a nervy final 10 minutes of the game for the hosts.
When quizzed about his team's performance, Antonio Conte spoke to the media after the game, saying (via football.london):
"It is difficult to start from the end of this game because we played a really good game, despite conceding a goal, that we could be much better in this situation, but our reaction was an important reaction and we created many chances to score. We scored three times and Trapp was their best player in the whole game."
He added:
"That is the positive aspect from the game. The negative aspect is the final part and it has to be a big lesson for everybody, for me, for the players. The game finishes when the referee whistles three times. In the last part of the game, everybody conceded the game ended and for this reason we made a big mistake."
Tottenham will next host Everton in the Premier League on October 15.