Vitesse Arnhem coach Thomas Letsch admitted the Eredivisie outfit paid for their defensive mistakes during Antonio Conte’s debut as Tottenham Hotspur manager last night, speaking to Omroep GLD.
It wasn’t so much a ‘new manager bounce’ in the Europa Conference League as a leap so high it could have ricocheted off the face of the Moon.
Just three days after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo in the north London dugout, Conte released the shackles and oversaw 30 minutes of football that could hardly have been more different from the turgid sludge Spurs have served supporters in the past two months.
Son Heung-min had already seen a shot cleared off the line before opening the scoring in the 14th minute. Lucas Moura doubled the lead before a Jacob Rasmussen own-goal saw Spurs take control – purring, probing and suddenly prolific.
“We played well in the beginning but made three big mistakes in the first half. Then you immediately see the quality of a top team like Tottenham,” says Letsch, his Vitesse side blown away by Tottenham’s new-found ruthlessness.
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However, if Conte was under any illusions about the size of the task he faces in his return to England, a stirring Vitesse fightback offered a timely reminder of Tottenham’s vulnerability.
Rasmussen scored at the right end four minutes after putting through his own net before Matus Bero cut Spurs’ lead to one – and it wasn’t even half-time!
“The way we came back in this match fills me with pride – but there is also great disappointment because you lose anyway,” Letsch added.
“I thought we were the better team in two games against Tottenham (Vitesse won 1-0 in the Netherlands). That naturally helps our confidence. We’re also still in (with a chance to qualify). And if you had said that after the fourth game and after two duels with Tottenham, most people would have asked: ‘How is that possible?’”
Things got more worrying for Tottenham when £47 million centre-back Cristian Romero was sent off early in the second half.
The Argentine, reminiscent of former Manchester City centre-back Nicolas Otamendi in many ways, embodies a risk-or-reward approach to defending. Last night the risk certainly didn’t pay off, diving in and dragging back the rampant Lois Openda to receive a second yellow card.
In the end, Spurs were indebted to some Hugo Lloris heroics as their first game under Conte’s management transformed from a cruise into a nail-biter. It helped that Vitesse had two players of their own sent off in the final ten minutes.
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