“Impossible” Antonio Conte hits out at Man City advantage after Marseille win

“Impossible”  Antonio Conte hits out at Man City advantage after Marseille win

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has slammed the scheduling of their match against Manchester City on Saturday, claiming his team is in a “impossible” scenario.

After defeating Marseille on Wednesday, the Premier League side takes against the reigning champions knowing that they would have one day fewer to prepare.

Conte stood by as his team battled to a 2-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Richarlison scoring two wonderful headers to give Tottenham a winning start to their Champions League campaign.

The encounter, however, was not as simple as it could have been, as the hosts battled to break down their 10-man opponents, who had Chancel Mbemba ejected for a harsh foul on Son Heung-min.

Son, Harry Kane, and Richarlison all played the entire 90 minutes, while Dejan Kulusevski came off the bench, meaning Conte was unable to give his stars any rest.

And, with the City game just three days away, followed by another game the following Tuesday, the Italian bemoaned the prospect of a crowded schedule in the coming weeks.

“We have to play in two days against Manchester City,” Conte told BT Sport.

“Now we have to try to rest and recover well. City played yesterday so have one day more to rest. In my opinion that’s very important.”

When challenged about his comments, Conte said in a press conference that he was concerned about the “impossible” circumstances his players were in and promised to rotate his group.

“For sure we have to make rotation because it will be impossible to play with the same players on Saturday and also [next] Tuesday,” he told reporters.

Spurs will travel to Manchester to face Man City in their biggest match of the season, with both teams unblemished and even on points after winning four of their opening six games.

After a 4-0 demolition of Sevilla in Spain on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola’s team will have an extra day to prepare.

Conte’s squad will then travel to Portugal to face Sporting Lisbon on matchday two of the Champions League on September 13, before meeting Leicester City at home on September 14.

It means the team will play four games in 11 days, and Conte stated over the weekend that he has asked his club to fight the Premier League despite their crowded schedule.

“I try to check the schedule of the other teams and I have seen that in this situation, Tottenham, they penalise a lot our club. In the future, and also I spoke with the club [about this], we have to pay great attention to speak to the Premier League,” he said.

“One day more, one day less, can change totally your life and you can drop points. This is no good for a team like Tottenham. When you want to start to think as a winner, you have to take care of the details. We can do much better for the future.”

“Impossible”  Antonio Conte hits out at Man City advantage after Marseille win