Conte thanks players and fans after Chelsea victory
Antonio Conte hailed Chelsea’s players after their dramatic victory over rivals Tottenham at Wembley.
Spurs dominated much of their first league game at the national stadium but were undone by two goals from Marcos Alonso.
Alonso put the champions ahead with a superb free-kick and then netted a late winner after Michy Batshuayi’s own goal.
Chelsea’s triumph came despite the absence of key players such as Eden Hazard and suspended duo Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas.
Blues boss Conte said: “I must be pleased. I want to thank my players. They showed me great desire, great will, great heart – I saw fighters and a lot of positive things.
“It is not easy for us in this moment with injuries and suspensions. Despite this, to play away against Tottenham and win is a fantastic result.
“We suffered in this game but we showed we were dangerous in every moment and were ready to try to score the second goal.
“Don’t forget that last season, after 13 wins in a row, we lost 2-0 to Tottenham. Instead today I saw a lot of positive things.”
Conte also paid tribute to the Chelsea fans who saw their team defend resolutely before snatching the points.
“I want to thank our fans because the atmosphere was incredible,” said the Italian.
“In that type of atmosphere I think our fans were very important because they tried to push us in every moment of the game when we were suffering.
“Our fans tried to push us despite 70,000 Tottenham supporters.”
