Antonio Conte has praised Nick Pope as the Newcastle United goalkeeper kept Tottenham Hotspur at bay on Sunday afternoon.
Tottenham hosted Newcastle on Sunday and came unstuck in the first half.
Callum Wilson benefited from a Hugo Lloris error to put Newcastle 1-0 up before Miguel Almiron’s stunning form continued with another goal.
Boos and jeers rained down alongside the torrential downpour at half time and whilst Harry Kane gave Tottenham hope, it wasn’t enough.
A 2-1 defeat means that’s now three losses in five for Tottenham and Conte needs to find answers soon.
Antonio Conte has praised Nick Pope
The frustrating part for Tottenham here is that they actually started the game so well.
Son Heung-min forced a couple of saves from Nick Pope in the first half and Harry Kane saw a low shot blocked by the feet of Pope.
Newcastle gained confidence from there and Pope had a fairly quiet second half even with Tottenham pushing for an equaliser.
This won’t exactly go down as Pope’s greatest game or anything like that, but he still earned praise from Conte after the final whistle.
Speaking to BBC Sport (19:08), Conte pointed out that Pope ‘made some good saves’ to keep Tottenham at bay.
Conte felt that Pope was vital in keeping the score at 0-0 before Wilson scored a ‘strange’ opener for Newcastle and changed the game.
“It was a pity. I thought at least a draw was the fair result. We started well and had chances to score,” said Conte. “The Newcastle goalkeeper made some good saves and in our best moment they scored this strange goal. I don’t want to comment about that decision.”
“Then a few moments later we conceded the second goal. We lost a bit of confidence and maybe that was the difficult point for us. My players then showed great determination and commitment. I don’t have anything to complain about,” he added.
Pope looks nailed-on to be in the England squad at the World Cup, probably as cover for Jordan Pickford.
Pope has been an outstanding signing for Newcastle having arrived from relegated Burnley over the summer.
Newcastle have conceded just 10 goals in the Premier League this season, giving them the best defensive record in the league.
Pope has been key to that record and Newcastle will hope to see him frustrate other strikers and managers throughout the campaign.
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