Antonio Conte was especially proud of his Tottenham players for emerging from Liverpool with a draw because of the way they coped with the "amazing atmosphere" at Anfield.
Home fans were in fine voice throughout the entertaining Premier League fixture on Saturday night, which ended 1-1 after Luis Diaz cancelled out Son Heung-min's opener with a deflected strike. One of the biggest roars of the night actually came after Liverpool conceded in the 56th minute, with supporters hoping to spur the hosts on.
This worked to a certain degree as Diaz hit back with just over a quarter of an hour remaining, but the Reds were unable to find a winner. Conte was full of praise for both teams as he assessed the match and was keen to highlight the way his side managed the occasion at the 53,000-seater stadium.
"It isn't simple to play in this moment against this team. Especially at Anfield, an amazing atmosphere with a lot of noise," the Spurs boss said, per the Liverpool Echo. "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."
One of the "chances" Conte referenced fell to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg but the midfielder opted to try and nod the ball across the box to Harry Kane rather than fire an effort on goal himself.
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"It was a very good chance," Conte said of Hojbjerg's late opportunity. "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 [Klopp] 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."
Tottenham are fifth in the Premier League, one point behind Arsenal ahead of the Gunners' clash with Leeds on Sunday. Meanwhile, Liverpool are top of the table on goal difference but Manchester City will leapfrog them if they defeat or draw with Newcastle.
