Tottenham manager Antonio Conte says Saturday’s emphatic win at Leeds “has to be a starting point” for his side as they inflicted another damaging blow to Leeds’ hopes of staving off Premier League relegation.
Spurs broke the deadlock after just ten minutes when Ryan Sessegnon broke clear down the left and delivered a perfectly weighted cross for Matt Doherty to sweep home.
Dejan Kulusevski drilled in the visitors’ second before Harry Kane’s composed finish made it 3-0 on the half-hour mark.
Son Heung-min compounded Leeds’ misery in the second half when he latched on to Kane’s ball over the top of the home defence and beat Illan Meslier with a smart finish.
“I have seen a desire and a will to fight in every moment of the game,” said Conte, who had questioned his future following Wednesday’s defeat by Burnley.
The Italian told BBC Match of the Day: “They fought during the game and it was good for me to see this.
“If we want to be competitive, try to improve and build something important, it is not enough to play football and enjoy football. You have to win, and to win you need to match good football with a great desire.”
“We had to put great desire and determination into every game from the start until the end, and today we saw this. My teams are not soft. My teams need to be strong.”
Robin Koch and Raphinha struck the woodwork for Leeds and Stuart Dallas should have scored a consolation prior to Spurs’ fourth, but the hosts rarely looked capable of forging a route back into the game as Spurs continued to carve out opportunities on the counter-attack.
The result lifts Tottenham to within five points of fourth-placed Manchester United, while Leeds are now just two points above the bottom three.
(BBC Sport)
