LONDON (AP) – Antonio Conte’s first game as Tottenham strategist included five first-half goals, three red cards and many examples of the challenge the manager faces at the London club.
Tottenham barely held out to win at home on Thursday, 3-2 over Vitesse Arnherm, in the Europa Conference League. The English side prevailed after nearly squandering a three-goal lead on Conte’s debut.
The Italian coach was named head of the Spurs on Monday, following the dismissal of Nuno Espírito Santo.
José Mourinho, a former Tottenham manager, also avoided an embarrassing result. Roma scored late to equal 2-2 at home against Bode / Glimt of Norway, who had crushed the Italian squad 6-1 on the previous date.
In the Europa League, Napoli beat Legia 4-1 away with a goal from Mexico’s Hirving Lozano in the 78th minute.
Conte seemed to have already given Tottenham a makeover. The English side took the lead 3-0 after just 28 minutes.
However, the Dutch club scored two goals before the break. Then, Tottenham lost to Argentine defender Cristian Romero, who received the red card in the 59th minute.
The Spurs continued to press until two Vitesse players were sent off in the final 10 minutes.
Son Heung-min, who scored the first goal in the Mourinho and Espírito Santo efforts, did the same for Conte in the 14th minute, before Lucas Moura extended and Jaco Rasmussen scored on his own goal.
“It was a crazy game. Normally I don’t like this type of game, ”Conte acknowledged. “Of course, we were winning 3-0 and we received two goals that we were able to avoid. After the red card we were in trouble. But I think that winning is good for this club, it is good for these players and they all need to improve their confidence ”.
Tottenham are second in Group D, three points behind Rennes of France, who beat Mura of Slovenia 1-0.
In Group E, Feyenoord of the Netherlands beat Union Berlin 2-1 amid a reinforced police presence following riots related to a previous match in Rotterdam.
Police made at least 74 arrests in the run-up to the match, which began amid smoke from numerous flares lit by visiting fans before kickoff.
LYON AND FRANKFURT FORWARD.
Lyon and Eintracht Frankfurt became the first teams to qualify for the knockout phase of the Europa League, after both had victories.
With three goals in the second half, including two from Islam Slimani, Lyon beat Sparta Prague 3-0 and scored their fourth win in Group A. Meanwhile, Frankfurt defeated Olympiakos 2-1 in Group D.
A late own goal marred David Moyes’ 1,000th game as manager. West Ham had to settle for drawing 2-2 against Genk.
The result cut off the perfect march for the Hammers in Group H. However, those led by Moyes secured their ticket to the knockout phase after Dinamo Zagreb beat Rapid Vienna 3-1.
Said Benrahma had scored twice for West Ham, who came back to take the 2-1 lead in Belgium. However, substitute Tomas Soucek accidentally headed a cross to the first post for the London club to settle for a point.
Napoli raised their chances of advancing with their victory in Warsaw. They passed the Polish team themselves at the top of a difficult Group C.
A missed penalty by Jamie Vardy kept Leicester’s hopes in suspense, which drew 1-1 with Spartak Moscow. Aleksandr Selikhov saved the penalty taken by the forward in the complement so that the Foxes were third in the group, two points behind Napoli.
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