Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has criticised his Tottenham counterpart Antonio Conte for not looking him in the eyes during the two’s post-match handshake.
The two managers clashed on the sidelines during the fiery encounter at Stamford Bridge and after the game ended, with Spurs netting a last-minute equaliser to rescue a dramatic and controversial draw.
It was an entertaining clash at Stamford Bridge in which Chelsea enjoyed the majority of possession and the chances, but failed to convert it into a victory. Kalidou Koulibaly opened the scoring in the first half with a powerful finish but the Blues failed to build on their lead.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg equalised for Spurs midway through the second half, but Blues boss Tuchel had been left furious by referee Anthony Taylor not awarding a free-kick for Rodrigo Bentancur’s challenge on Kai Havertz. Conte celebrated the goal directly in front of Tuchel, who reacted angrily – with the pair having to be separated.
Tuchel then celebrated Reece James restoring the Blues lead by running down the touchline – bypassing Conte and the Spurs dugout – while the two clashed once again after the final whistle, with both being sent-off after a disagreement following a strong post-match handshake. The incident came just moments after the visitors had snatched a late draw.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Tuchel addressed the post-match incident: "I thought when we shake hands you looked in each other eyes, he had a different opinion. It was not necessary but a lot of things were not necessary." When Tuchel was pushed on why both managers were booked after their clash following the Spurs first equalising goal, the coach responded: "There was no problem."
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Tuchel was then quizzed on why he decided to run down the touchline after the home side had restored the lead, and he explained: "In the middle I thought I should not do this but sometimes a match gets you and this one really sucked me in. It was pure joy, it may offend our opponents but they did the same."
Continuing on his apparent feud with Conte, Tuchel added: "There are no hard feelings. I feel like it was a fair tackle from him (Conte) and a fair tackle from me. We did not insult each other, we did not hit each other, we are fighting for our teams." Tuchel concluded by reaffirming his stance that neither of Spurs goals should have stood – with Marc Cucurella being pulled to the ground by his hair by Spurs defender Christian Romero, ahead of Tottenham ’s corner which saw them restore parity.
Tuchel said of the Spurs goals: "Both goals should not stand. Only one team deserved to win, that was us. I don't know how many tactical fouls Hojbjerg and Bentancur did today. Since when can we pull hair in a football match? They checked and nothing happened, absolutely ridiculous."
