Antonio Conte has claimed that a draw would have been a 'fair result' after his Spurs side were defeated by high-flying Newcastle United.
Newcastle moved into the top four following a superb 2-1 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday evening. The Magpies, in the process, became the first team to beat Spurs in their own backyard since April after leaving the hosts with a mountain to climb at half-time.
Nick Pope did have to make two smart stops to keep out both Son heung-Min and Harry Kane inside the opening half-hour, but fearless Newcastle took the lead, themselves, in the 31st minute after Callum Wilson lobbed the ball into the net from outside the box following a collision with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Miguel Almiron then doubled his side's advantage just before the break with a brilliant run and finish.
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Harry Kane pulled a goal back in the 54th minute, but the hosts never truly looked like grabbing an equaliser in the second half and, tellingly, a number of Spurs fans streamed out of the stadium long before the final whistle went. Conte, though, felt his side deserved a point.
"In the first half, we started really well and we played really well," the Spurs boss told reporters. "Before they scored, I think I saw only one team - it was Tottenham - and Pope made two, three amazing saves if you go to watch the game again.
"Then we conceded this goal which, for sure, we can do much better with. I don't want to comment on the referee's decision because you know I don't like to do it but, for sure, we could do much better in this situation. After a few minutes, we conceded a second goal and this second goal could kill everybody. Instead, if there is one side that I am happy with, it's seeing a good reaction from my players.
"I have seen in the second half, in this situation, you have a big risk to lose your mind, to lose your head and then risk conceding a lot of goals. We tried to score - we scored one goal - and tried to create chances to level the game. But, in the end, we didn't do it. In my personal opinion, I think the draw was the most fair result."
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