Antonio Conte's Tottenham side got a much needed three points against Brighton, on their trip to the AMEX Stadium on Wednesday night. The midweek fixture comes just a number of days before their London derby tie against West Ham at the weekend.
Spurs' 2-0 victory involved goals from Cristian Romero and Harry Kane, securing them maximum points in the ongoing battle for a top four spot. The Irons are currently level on points with Conte's side, but have played one extra game.
After Wednesday's match, the Italian praised his side in his post match press conference. "A good performance, the team put in a very good performance, the last period I am seeing great improvement," he explained.
"It means we are improving and we are trying to go in another step to try to be very close to the top of the table." The 52-year-old will hope his side can take some momentum from the midweek win into the derby clash on Sunday, to make it two wins in a row.
READ MORE: Every word Conte said on why Kane is enjoying playing for him plus Romero and Bentancur praise
After the Brighton victory and ahead of Sunday's tie, football.london takes a look at what Conte did during Tottenham's trip to the AMEX Stadium.
Supporting his players throughout
Conte has shown throughout his time in charge of the north London club that he is passionate on the sidelines throughout games. Standing up for 90 minutes, up and down the touchline, shouting and gesturing to his players on the pitch, no matter what the score is.
Therefore it was no surprise when this continued with Spurs' trip to Brighton. Conte always seems to be shouting words of encouragement to his players and can be seen reacting in a similar way to fans, when his side miss attempts on goal.
However against Graham Potter's side, the Italian seemed even more encouraging than usual, clapping a number of the close attempts Tottenham had. Spurs had 17 shots with seven on target, whilst the Seagulls had none on target, meaning the Lilywhites did well to defend Brighton's attacks.
This encouragement from Conte can only be a boost to his players on the side and his shouting is likely to only help them improve on the pitch.
Midgame talk with Graham Scott
It wasn't long ago that the Spurs boss was shown a yellow card at Elland Road during Tottenham's 4-0 victory over Leeds, when his passion perhaps went too far. On Wednesday during the first half, Conte could be seen having a chat with the fourth official, Graham Scott.
It wasn't clear what the two were conversing about, with Scott gesturing along the touchline and then a bit of a shrug of his shoulders. Scott then said something in Conte's ear and made a kicking motion towards the floor.
However the conversation seemed very amicable and the two finished the chat with smiles on their faces before continuing to watch the game. The 52-year-old's passion can get him in trouble but it didn't this time.
VAR prayers answered
Tottenham's first goal at the AMEX Stadium came from a lucky deflection off Cristian Romero, after an initial shot from Dejan Kulusevski. The Lilywhites then had to wait until 12 minutes into the second half before Harry Kane doubled their lead.
Kane's goal made him the top Premier League away goalscorer, yet another record for the England captain to celebrate. Conte also praised his striker after the game, for his goal and ability.
"Harry is starting to understand with this team, with the way we are playing, he has every game many chances to improve his record and score and to enjoy," he admitted. "I am seeing that he is enjoying to play with us together and with his team-mates and with this way we are playing."
However, when Rodrigo Bentancur played the ball to Kane in the buildup to his goal, it caused some VAR controversy. The Lilywhites had to wait a few moments whilst the goal was checked for a possible offside.
Whilst this was going on, Conte was on the sideline with his hands together in a praying gesture, hoping the goal stood. His prayers were answered when the goal stood and it meant Tottenham could slightly relax, knowing they had a confirmed two goal lead.
The victory took Spurs back to seventh in the league, but they have a big three points up for grabs against West Ham on Sunday. Both sides are hoping for a top four spot and the game is a big chance to start to create a gap in the Premier League table.
