Antonio Conte calls Tottenham squad 'one of the best' of his career

Antonio Conte labelled his Tottenham squad as "one of the best group of players" he's worked with following their stunning 3-2 victory over Manchester City on Saturday night.

Much of the build-up to the fixture was dominated by a mistranslated interview Conte gave to Sky Italia, though he later clarified the comments and said he was "disturbed" by those he claimed were attempting to "create a problem with me".

Off the back of three consecutive Premier League defeats, that story attracted a lot of heat but the former Chelsea boss took the opportunity to heap praise onto his squad after the victory at the Etihad Stadium.

“One win is not enough, don’t forget we’re coming after three losses,” Conte said. “But for sure the win against Manchester City can give you confidence and trust in what you’re doing. We can improve a lot.

“This group of players is fantastic. Honestly, this is one of the best groups of players I’ve worked with in my career.

“We have a lot of space for improvement. We have mainly young players to improve and make experience.

“Also in this game against Man City, we had a lot of work today but we’re not scared to work.”

A masterclass from Harry Kane helped Spurs on their way, with the England captain bagging a brace to go alongside Dejan Kulusevski's early opener. A mistake from Hugo Lloris had gifted Ilkay Gundogan an equaliser and Riyad Mahrez again brought City level in injury time from the penalty spot, but Kane's second ensured Tottenham closed the gap on the top four.

Asked if the recent run of losses had brought his squad together, Conte added: “If I have to tell you it was good to have three losses, no!

“Because I hate to lose. But at the same time it was important to have this reaction because maybe the last two games, not against Chelsea, maybe we deserved more than to lose.

“But the Premier League is very difficult, we have to fight a lot, to try to give everything to improve your level. We’re working very hard and I’m enjoying working with this group of players.”

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