Antonio Conte backed Tottenham to challenge for the Premier League title again this season after Mauricio Pochettino’s men ended Chelsea’s record-equalling 13-match winning streak at White Hart Lane.
A header in each half from Dele Alli gave Spurs a 2-0 win over their London rivals , who had not tasted defeat in the Premier League since Conte’s decision to switch to a 3-4-3 formation in late September.
The result lifts Tottenham up to third in the table, just seven points behind Chelsea, and after the match Conte admitted that Spurs — who chased eventual champions Leicester City until the final weeks of last season — had underlined their credentials as title challengers this time around.
“I think today I saw a game with a good balance,” Conte told Sky Sports. “They scored a goal at the end of the first half and then they scored the second goal in our best moment. It’s a pity to stop this [winning] run but Tottenham is a good team, a really strong team.
“They are for sure one of the teams that can fight for the title until the end. They fought last season and for sure Tottenham can fight also this year.”
Chelsea were outplayed in most areas of the pitch at White Hart Lane, but Conte is adamant that his team will not dwell on their setback.
“We are at the top of the table because we are working a lot,” he added. “From last season we improved a lot, but for sure this championship is very tough. For this reason it’s important to work to continue to work. A defeat against Tottenham can happen. They are a really strong team.
“Now it’s important to restart. After 13 wins in a row it’s difficult to accept a defeat, but this is football.”
Gary Cahill believes that Chelsea paid a heavy price for not reaching the same level of intensity that has characterised their performances for much of this winning streak, but backed his teammates to recover when they resume their Premier League campaign away to Leicester City later this month.
“Maybe we’re not robots but at the same time I’m disappointed, because I thought we could have gone to that next level,” Cahill told Sky Sports. “I felt like we weren’t as sharp, weren’t quite as quick as we’ve been, a few misplaced passes, a few heavy touches.
“We were just a little bit short than the levels we’ve set this season, and you can’t be short at places like this. Credit to them, they did well and got the result, but we have to be on our game all the time. I’m disappointed but the run has been fantastic.
“We’ll dust ourselves off. We’ve got a cup game [against Peterborough] at the weekend and then we’ll go again the week after. It won’t affect us mentally. Now [it hurts] because it’s raw, but we’ve got strong personalities in that dressing room. One loss in 14 games is not going to affect us one bit. We go again.”
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate