Kane’s late goal denies Chelsea victory in fierce London derby
By Oviri Kelvin, Sports Editor
England striker Harry Kane snapped a late equalizer for Tottenham to deny Chelsea a win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The London derby between two strong sides saw the return of former Chelsea manager and Tottenham boss Antonio Conte to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea, after kick-off, got the first goal in the 19th minute when new signing Kalidou Koulibaly smashed in Marc Cucurella’s cross past Tottenham goalie Hugo Lloris to hand the Blues a lead till the close of the first half.
However, on return for the second forty-five minutes, Tottenham responded squarely to cancel the Senegalese first Premier League goal through Pierre Hojbjerg’s 68-minute effort, having capitalized on Jorginho’s error in the penalty area.
This resulted in Conte going ecstatic to celebrate the goal outside his technical boundaries which angered Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel to respond likewise when Reece James scored the Blues’ second goal in the 77th minute.
Following what looked like a finished job for Chelsea in front of their home fans soon turned sour as Kane in the additional time headed a late equalizer before stoppage time to spark an open confrontation between both clubs’ managers.
Meanwhile, Conte in a post-match interview, refrained from commenting on the incident involving Tuchel, adding that he prefers to talk about the game.
“My opinion is it’s better to talk about the game. It was a difficult game for both teams and we try in every game to be competitive,” he said.
The Italian manager, who was linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain at the close of last season, as a replacement for Mauricio Pochettino, insisted that Chelsea proved to be a better team compared to last season.
“Chelsea showed they are a really good team. Compared to last season we did better, but if we want to create problems for Chelsea [in the table] we have to be better,” he continued.
“I don’t want to comment on the [Tuchel] situation, this is not the most important thing. If there’s a problem, it’s between me and him. It’s normal to come here and to suffer but at the same time we created chances to stay in the game,” Conte added.
Chelsea in their next Premier League fixture will travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United who beat Wolves in their opening match before playing a 2-2 draw with Southampton on Saturday.
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