Antonio Conte admitted Tottenham face a fight to finish in the Premier League’s top four after a costly mistake from Hugo Lloris condemned the north Londoners to a damaging 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa on Monday (AEDT).
Playing for the first time since France’s World Cup final defeat against Argentina, Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris weakly spilled Douglas Luiz’s shot early in the second half and Emiliano Buendia pounced to put Villa ahead.
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Brazilian midfielder Luiz added Villa’s second goal in the closing stages, leaving Conte’s side to endure jeers from frustrated fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Fifth placed Tottenham have failed to win both of their matches since the World Cup break, a dip in form which has allowed fourth placed Manchester United to climb two points above them.
“We understand very well that the league will be really difficult for us,” Conte said.
“I want to be honest, I want to be very clear. I have said this to the club, I have said my opinions.
“The fans deserve the best. Maybe to stay in 5th is the best. Maybe 6th, 7th, 5th or 4th is the best.”
Claiming Tottenham lack the creative quality to break down defensive opponents like Villa, Conte said: “We found a team that defended too deep and then we conceded the first goal.
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“I’m sure that if we don’t concede the goal, we could win the game. The goal that we conceded killed us in confidence.
“We don’t have many players who are really good to beat the man. We don’t have many creative players in our team.”
Although Tottenham dominated possession for long periods, they couldn’t make the breakthrough.
Villa hit them with a sucker punch five minutes after half-time as Lloris’s blunder allowed the visitors to snatch the lead.
Luiz’s long-range shot lacked the power to beat Lloris, but the keeper failed to hold it and Ollie Watkins pounced on the loose ball, flicking it to Buendia, who slotted home from 10 yards.
It was the seventh successive Premier League game in which Tottenham had conceded the first goal.
Perisic couldn’t convert a golden opportunity to equalise when he fired over from Son’s free-kick, while Kane miscued a decent chance from just inside the area.
Reprieved by those misses, Villa delivered the knockout blow in the 73rd minute. John McGinn’s superb pass split the Tottenham defence and Luiz took a touch before guiding a clinical finish past Lloris.
STUTTERING CHELSEA HELD BY PLUCKY FOREST
Chelsea’s spluttering Premier League campaign took a turn for the worse as Serge Aurier’s equaliser gave lowly Nottingham Forest a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
Raheem Sterling put Chelsea ahead at the City Ground in the first half of their opening game in 2023.
But Ivory Coast right-back Aurier levelled after the break and Chelsea were fortunate to escape without an embarrassing defeat after Forest dominated for long spells in the second half.
Chelsea are languishing in eighth place after failing to win for the sixth time in their last seven league games.
The Blues are seven points adrift of fourth placed Manchester United in the race to qualify for the Champions League via a top four finish.
Just months after replacing the sacked Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea boss Graham Potter is starting to come under fire as the early optimism after his move from Brighton begins to fade.
Forest are third bottom having won just three games all season, but boss Steve Cooper will take heart from the way his team rattled Chelsea in the second half.
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Christian Pulisic’s cross towards Kai Havertz was deflected by Forest defender Willy Boly’s out-stretched foot, with the ball looping onto the crossbar and bouncing down perfectly for the unmarked Sterling to slam home from close-range.
It was Sterling’s first league goal since August and only the sixth in all competitions for the England forward since his close-season move from Manchester City.
But Chelsea’s first half superiority quickly faded after the interval. Kepa came to Chelsea’s rescue with a superb save after Johnson accelerated onto Morgan Gibbs-White’s pass and unleashed a stinging shot.
With Chelsea strangely subdued in the second half, Forest’s pressure paid off in the 63rd minute.
Boly out-jumped Pulisic to head a corner towards Aurier, who deftly controlled on his chest before volleying through Kepa’s legs from five yards.
Aurier’s first goal for Forest since his September move from Villarreal left Chelsea reeling.
Potter sent on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech and Conor Gallagher, but Yates could have won it for Forest when he scuffed just wide.
FULL RESULTS
Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Aston Villa
Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest