Antonio Conte's Tottenham side have secured four points from their first two Premier League games of the 2022/23 season. However, after the poor display produced at Stamford Bridge, the Italian will hope for an improvement when his side return to home turf this weekend.
There were still some positives to take away from the game against Chelsea, which ended in a 2-2 draw. Spurs came back from losing positions twice and it highlighted the fight they showed, right up until the final minute, when Harry Kane scored the equaliser.
The new arrivals coming on as substitutes also highlighted the improvement in the quality of the depth of the squad, which is something which Conte didn't have last season. One of these players who made arguably the biggest impact, was Richarlison.
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The Brazilian wasn't in the matchday squad against Southampton, due to his one-match ban from an incident whilst he was at Everton last season. Richarlison replaced Ryan Sessegnon in the 57th minute at Stamford Bridge and threw the Chelsea defence off kilter.
Before this point, Reece James and the rest of the Blues back line had worked hard to keep Son Heung-min and Harry Kane very quiet. Thomas Tuchel's side left no room for either of the Spurs attacking duo to find space and make their usual impact in the final third.
Richarlison's introduction saw Conte switch to a 4-2-4 set-up, something Chelsea didn't seem prepared for. It left them with an extra player to mark and did leave space for Son and Kane to try and make an impact. The 25-year-old's energy and aggression brought fresh legs onto the pitch and caused a threat to opposing side.
With both Son and Dejan Kulusevski having quiet days against Tuchel's side, there are now questions over whether the Brazilian could replace one of them, when Tottenham take on Wolves on Saturday. Former Spurs players Alan Hutton and Paul Robinson both believe he could.
"I think the way Tottenham ended the game against Chelsea it was really attacking. I think he gives you something a little bit different," Hutton told Football Insider. "He’s obviously aggressive in his play and he’ll be desperate for a start. The only thing I would say with that is that the front three at this moment in time picks itself. It’s always going to be difficult for him.
"He’s going to have to try and be that impact player for them moving forward. His opportunities will come of course, but can he play to that high level the way Son, Kulusevski and Kane do week in week out? That’s the question mark above his head," the former defender added.
This competition for places is something Tottenham will have all season. Not only does this give Conte the chance for rotation when needed, it also is likely going to make the Spurs players work extra hard, to try and earn themselves regular game time.
Robinson agrees with Hutton that Saturday could see Richarlison make his Premier League debut for his new club. "I think Richarlison will start," the former goalkeeper told Football Insider.
"He came on and gave Spurs another dimension. Conte did not change the team against Chelsea because they played so well against Southampton.
"It was not a good performance at Stamford Bridge though. They didn’t play well in the first half and they barely improved in the second. It means there is an opportunity to change things up this weekend," Robinson added
"Conte was loyal to those players who played against Southampton. Now we will see some of the new signings. Richarlison will be one of them."
When speaking to the media on Thursday, the Italian was asked if the substitutes that made an impact last week, could be in contention to start against Wolves. "It's very important and then you know very well for now we're playing one game a week and I'm trying, especially at the start to play with the players that know me much better and know our idea of football much better," Conte explained.
"We are exploiting this time to bring players like Richy, Lenglet and Bissouma, Perisic and all the players we signed. The same also for Spence, to go into our idea of football. We are taking the right steps. We are ready for when we have games every three days to make rotations and it will be good for us."
So it will be interesting to see how many, if any, changes the 53-year-old makes against Bruno Lage's side. If Richarlison isn't in the starting XI, it just means he needs to continue working hard to earn his spot and when he is given the opportunity to impress, make sure he takes it with both hands.
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