After the loss to Sporting, Tottenham immediately went to Southend airport to return to England and caught the wrath of Conte.
The whole team was not allowed to go home, spent the night at the club training ground and then was called up by Conte to train the next morning.
This is a training session that the Italian coach did not inform the students, although they had to practice according to the official schedule in the afternoon of the same day.
Asked about the two goals at the end of the match against Sporting, Conte insisted the players had to reduce mistakes, especially when playing in the Champions League, and react better.
He wants Tottenham back on a winning streak this weekend, despite appreciating the squad under Brendan Rodgers.
Leicester are currently bottom of the table having taken just one point from a 2-2 draw with Brentford, and have lost all five of their remaining games.
After Tottenham lost to Sporting Lisbon, coach Antonio Conte hinted at his willingness to remove Son Heung-min from the first team.
“No player is irreplaceable,” Conte said on September 15, in a press conference ahead of the Premier League round 8 match against Leicester, when asked about Son Heung-min’s poor form from the start of the season.
“The players can play one game, one round the shoulder and one game after that. My job is to protect my students and help them stay in shape for good results.”
Conte continues to insist that he will rotate and give opportunities to all players next time to when Tottenham has a packed schedule until before the postponement of the season gives way to the 2022 World Cup.
However, the Italian coach admitted that it is impossible to shuffle the squad like when playing in the Europa Conference League last season, because of the large class difference between this tournament compared to the Champions League or the Premier League.
Son has always been a solid starter since arriving at Tottenham in 2015, and he has always exceeded the ten-goal mark in the Premier League.
But the absence of eight games since the start of the season, including six in the Premier League and two in the Champions League, has left the South Korean striker’s position shaken violently.
This was the opposite form last season, when Son went down in history as the first Asian player to win the Premier League top scorer with 23 goals in 35 games for Tottenham.
He shares the title with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
The South Korean striker’s high form helped Tottenham overcome rivals Arsenal in the last rounds to win tickets to the Champions League.
Son went on to start against Sporting, but left no impression and had to make way for Dejan Kulusevski from the 76th minute.
This match, not only Son, but Harry Kane and Richarlison both missed delicious chances, and cost Tottenham two goals in the 89th minute.
