When Antonio Conte and Tottenham look back at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, Monday evening's slender win at Fulham could potentially turn out to be a key moment in their season. Following back-to-back defeats against top two Arsenal and Manchester City, it was imperative that Spurs left Craven Cottage with three points in the bag.
Always going to be an incredibly tough evening in west London with Marco Silva's men making big strides and registering notable results against the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool at home since their promotion from the Championship, Tottenham had to weather the storm in the opening 45 minutes with the hosts dominating play. Doing very little of note as Bernd Leno remained largely untroubled, Harry Kane produced a moment of brilliance just prior to the half-time whistle to give them the lead against the run of play.
Receiving the ball from Son Heung-min, the England captain swivelled past Tim Ream before curling the ball into the bottom corner of the net past the helpless Leno. It was a momentous goal for the 29-year-old as it saw him draw level on Jimmy Greaves' club-record 266 goals for Tottenham.
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Almost breaking the record not long into the second half after forcing Leno into a top save from his close-range header, the striker will now have to wait to surpass the total after his low strike proved to be the only goal of the contest. A new record could be set at Preston North End on Saturday evening when the team take on the Championship side in the FA Cup, with Man City then to come at home the following weekend.
Coming into the fixture on the back of those two defeats against Arsenal and Man City, all that mattered was getting three points on the board at Craven Cottage, regardless of how they played. It was far from pretty at times but the main thing was that they won at Fulham, who could have leapfrogged them in the table with a win, to keep up the pressure on fellow top-four rivals Newcastle United and Manchester United.
Revealing ahead of the game that he wanted his players to fight and show the nasty side they displayed last season to seal Champions League football, Conte will have been impressed by what his team did as they secured victory at a tough ground. His reaction come the full-time whistle said it all.
Going over to applaud the travelling faithful, who were in full voice and extremely loud across the full 90 minutes, he showed his passion by clenching his fists, punching the air and shouting towards those in the Putney End. It was a rather telling moment and one the fans needed to see after speculation regarding his future had dominated talk 24 hours ahead of the game.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the 1-0 win, Kane stated that the team had held a meeting with the manager in their quest to turn a corner after such a mixed run of form. Conte was asked about it in his post-match press conference and outlined exactly what it was about and what was said.
"After the defeat to Manchester City and it was a strange defeat because also Guardiola said they were lucky to win the game. About the performance I was happy, but when you concede four goals it means that maybe there is something wrong. When you concede 21 goals in the last 10 games maybe there is something wrong and for this reason we spoke, we spoke with the players," he explained.
"I showed that compared to last season we are lacking defensively. When I speak defensively I mean the whole team and don't concede a goal, all of the team, not only the defenders and the goalkeeper. I have good players, but especially I have good men and they are smart people. They know that when I speak, I don't like to tell lies or good lies, but truth.
"I think after Manchester City I was really, not strong, but I said the truth because I repeat the stats speak clear. Maybe we are doing something less (compared) to last season. We have to find again the same spirit. Today I had a good answer but they know well this needs to be just a starting point for us if we want to be competitive for the rest of the season."
When asked about how his players reacted to the meeting and what he told them, he added: "First of all, I wasn't angry, this has to be very clear. In these situations, sometimes you are a bit upset but I wasn't angry.
"I showed only the stats and when there is the stats it's the truth, when it says 21 goals in the last 10 games, you have to accept and to understand that maybe we can do much more, but together and me also. Maybe I didn't work on some aspects and for this reason when I have a good relationship with the players and I tell them always the truth, they know that if I want to, they accept it because they're really good players and smart people.
"Then today they tried to give me an answer and today they give me an answer very well but this has to be not the only game despite a difficult game today against Fulham. For this reason now my expectation is to build on this win for the rest of the season, to be competitive and to make our fans proud of our team."
Hopefully a "starting point" for Tottenham after such a frustrating spell both before and immediately after the World Cup, Conte needs his players to repeat their performances from the second part of last campaign if they are to qualify for the Champions League for a second successive year. As important as the three points were at Craven Cottage on Monday night, the team meeting they held could also prove decisive to what happens come May.
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