Antonio Conte has congratulated Liverpool on their Carabao Cup final performance and believes the game showed how difficult it will be for Tottenham to win silverware this season.
Jurgen Klopp’s side claimed a dramatic 11-10 penalty shootout win over Chelsea in the first domestic cup final of the season on Sunday after the game finished 0-0 at Wembley.
The victory handed Liverpool their ninth League Cup, and it is the first time the Reds have claimed the trophy for 10 years.
And ahead of his side’s FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough tomorrow, Conte claimed Liverpool’s victory over Chelsea underlined what his Spurs side are up against to win trophies this season.
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He said: “To win trophies in England is very difficult. At the moment it’s easier to win in Europe than England.
“When you start to play the quarter-final, semi-final, final, you have to fight against a top, top team that probably could play the final of the Champions League.
“It’s important to continue to go through in this trophy. This happened in the Carabao [Cup], don’t underestimate the semi-final Tottenham reached.
“Because the final was Chelsea v Liverpool, so to reach the semi-final in this moment was a good result for Tottenham.
"For sure this has to be a boost to push us to improve the level, to be competitive, to try to meet a trophy as soon as possible.
“Because if I speak about the future, you don’t understand the time that we need. For sure it’ll be important to improve the level and fight to win a trophy.
“But I repeat, to win a trophy now is very difficult. It’s a great competition and previously I was lucky to reach the final two years in a row.
"I’d like to continue this tradition for Tottenham, especially for my players, especially the fans and the club. Not only for me.
"But you know this trophy is not simple or easy, and tomorrow we have to face Middlesbrough, a tough game.
"Middlesbrough eliminated Manchester United from this competition. I want to see continuity in the performance and result of my players.
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“We need continuity to show that in defeat we are learning something more. I hope tomorrow to see a good game, good football, at the same time with a great desire to go to the next round.
“Also I want to celebrate the game between Chelsea and Liverpool yesterday, it was a great, exciting game to watch.
“This also underlines how difficult it is to win trophies in this country. It was amazing for me and all the people in other countries to watch this game.
“Great congratulations for me to Chelsea and Liverpool, the players, the coach, for the fans, for the total environment it was a fantastic sport for football.
"I think that England has to be proud about this.”
