Antonio Conte praised his Tottenham Hotspur side for the way in which they handled an “amazing atmosphere” to dent Liverpool’s title charge.
Luis Diaz equalised Son Heung-Min’s opener as the Reds were held to a 1-1 draw by the Londoners at Anfield on Saturday evening.
Conte expressed pride in his players for coping with Liverpool’s “incredible” energy while admitting the outcome was a fair result as his team chase Champions League qualification.
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And the Tottenham boss said: “It isn’t simple to play in this moment against this team. Especially at Anfield, an amazing atmosphere with a lot of noise.
“It’s not simple against Liverpool and to see them play, to run with a lot of energy despite playing every few days, it is incredible. They are deserving everything they are reaching in this season, for sure.
“I need to be proud of my players, to play in this atmosphere, their fans were very excited, it wasn’t easy. But we never lost our composure and calm to face difficult moments.
“The result was positive, but we need to be a bit disappointed and I’ve seen in the eyes of my players at the end our players are disappointed as we had chances at the end to win the game.”
With Liverpool pressing for a winner in injury time, Tottenham missed a glorious chance to seal a victory when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed across the area rather than into the goal when completely unmarked.
And Conte added: “It was a very good chance (from Hojbjerg). I asked my players to be good defensively and we didn’t concede any chances to Liverpool and conceded a goal with a deflection.
“At the same time I asked our players to play with the all and we couldn’t, Liverpool pressed as they do in every game. But I think the draw was fair.
“Jurgen has done a fantastic job, in seven years they have won a lot and he has created a monster in a good way. He has to be satisfied. But to do that you need the time.
“In November not many people thought Tottenham would be competing for a place in the Champions League.”
