Son Heung-min scored twice as Tottenham beat 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt to move top of Group D in the Champions League.
"We scored good goals. We suffered. We had to try to handle the situation. We had to stay in the game.”
Those were the words of Tottenham Hotspur coach Antonio Conte after his Lilywhites beat Eintracht Frankfurt to go top of Group D in the Champions League.
The Bundesliga club took an early lead when Eric Dier lost possession, and Sebastian Rode assisted Daichi Kamada to hit the net from close range, but striker Harry Kane set up Heung-min Son, who levelled the score six minutes later.
The Spurs frontman Kane scored from the penalty spot in the 28th minute to hand the hosts the lead before Son’s thunderous shot made it 3-1 before half-time.
Tuta was handed his marching orders by the referee just after the interval as he received a second yellow card for his foul on Son, however, the German side did not give up and got back into the game when Faride Alidou nodded the ball into the net with three minutes left on the clock.
It was a nervous ending for the north London club, especially with Kane missing a second penalty in stoppage time, but Conte was pleased his Spurs side sealed the win, saying ‘we have to try to beat Sporting and go to the next round’ of Europe’s elite competition.
'We had to stay in the game.'
Speaking to BT Sport after the match, Conte explained: "We scored good goals. We suffered. We had to try to handle the situation. We had to stay in the game.
"We started in a very difficult way, conceding the first goal. We scored three goals and had big chances. In the end, we are leading our group. We have to try to beat Sporting and go to the next round.
"Until the end, we have to stay focused. It would have been a disaster if we drew a game like this."
When asked for his thoughts on Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, who have now assisted one another to score 50 times for Spurs in all competitions, the Italian answered: "We work a lot during the week to try to have good combination between our strikers. Today they showed great link-up.
"Richarlison played a good game. He had a problem in his knee. I hope it's nothing serious for Saturday's game with Everton. We should have Kulusevski for that game. He's an important option for us. He's vital."
On their next Champions League game against Sporting, he added: "Step by step. The next game is Everton. They started not really well but now they're playing good football. They're a really good team with a good manager. Tomorrow we rest and then on Friday we prepare the game."
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