Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte have reacted in their own way to the disturbances along the line at Chelsea-Tottenham Hotspur (2-2). The two managers got into a fight both during and after the game on Sunday.
During the game, Chelsea coach Tuchel and his Tottenham colleague Conte were already booked for a disturbance down the line and after the final whistle, the flames rose again. Tuchel wanted Conte to look him in the eye as he shook hands and continued to hold his hand, after which both coaches freaked out.
Tuchel and Conte were immediately shown red for their outbursts after the game at Stamford Bridge, where Harry Kane had made it 2-2 with a late goal. The striker headed in for Tottenham Hotspur in the 96th minute.
“Did we both get red?” Tuchel asked afterwards Sky Sports. “I thought it was normal to look each other in the eye when shaking hands, but he had a different opinion. That made it emotional because I have no problems with Conte at all.”
“I don’t think it was necessary, but more was not needed today,” continued 48-year-old Tuchel. “These red cards for us are part of the many wrong decisions by the referee today.”
Conte doesn’t feel like discussing riots
Conte did not want to mince words about the disturbances at Stamford Bridge afterwards. “It’s a problem between him and me, I don’t have to share it with the world.”
“It wasn’t the most important part of this game either,” said the 53-year-old Italian, who won the Premier League as Chelsea coach in 2017, but was sacked after two seasons.
Due to the red cards, Tuchel and Conte are normally missing from their team on the bench next week. Chelsea will play an away game against Leeds United in the coming round. Tottenham will meet Wolverhampton Wanderers in front of their home crowd.