The climax was chaos, Antonio Conte was surrounded by his staff and the entire Tottenham team celebrated away from home, Lucas. Mora slipped a hat off the fans' heads.
The magic factor of Tottenham's reversal is not just their refusal to lose (Conte spoke of their "toughness" and "desire"), but their calm wisdom in doing it.
Remember to go back to James. Madison took a 2-1 lead over Leicester City just a few minutes later. It feels as if Tottenham Hotspur have given up the game and despite their long dominance, they will have nothing to gain. Conte said after the game that trailing 1-12 had people "very disappointed", to put it euphemistically.
The Tottenham players look tired and frustrated, which is understandable. Their excellent offense has begun to give way to low shots from miles away. Anyone who has seen Tottenham Hotspur in recent years will be familiar with the sights, collectively dropping chains, shirking responsibility, desperately trying spectacular scenes, aimlessly dropping the ball into the box.
But that's not Conte's way. Playing for Conte is about digesting his complex script and understanding that regardless of the situation, there are processes and actions that can be implemented to distinguish opponents. Even now, in less than three months since Conte took office, every player on the pitch has been on the pitch because Conte believes he will follow these instructions. Even at the end of the fifth minute of five minutes of extra time, Tottenham were still trailing 1-2.
In Harry. After Kane won the first header, Tottenham Hotspur scrambled to win scattered possession time and landed in pierre. emir. Within the scope of Hoybyo. At this point, it looks exhausted, which is exactly what happens when desperate players make bad decisions. But he turned to Matt. Doherty completed a perfect diagonal pass from James. Justin sped up behind him, a run he'd been running since he got on the field at halftime. Until then, Doherty had been unlucky in the final three zones, but this time he bounced back luckily as Caglar Soyunku could only move the ball to the path of equaliser Bergwyn.
It was 94.51 and Tottenham could have forgiven for celebrating so wildly that they actually called it a draw. But even in the chaos, they exude calmness, bringing the ball straight back to the centre circle. (Considering that he was yellow carded a minute earlier for pushing Yunju, and that his role in the story wasn't finished yet, it was a good thing that Bergwayne knew it wouldn't run to the away at this point.) ）
Because when Leicester City started almost in the 96th minute, it was clear which team was still thinking clearly. Tillermans passed the ball directly to Hoybyo, who passed the ball directly back between Hoybio and Bubacary Sumare in midfield. Kane received the ball in the middle, turned around and completed a perfect pass in the narrow passage between Jannick Westgard and Soyunku – a pass that only he could play. Bergwayne rushed up, turned and deflected the ball into the only corner of the net he could find.
In many ways, it was a classic Conte goal: Hoybio was on a jump shot in midfield, Kane buried his prequel, and Belvion ran from the back as the No. 9 substitute. But what makes this thing so compelling is doing it in the context they do: in the 97th minute of an exhausting match, 80 seconds after their own thrilling equaliser, while trying to control their emotions and keep their plans going.
That's why this feels like probably the most important moment of Conte's tenure. Any team can follow their manager's script when it's easy: at the start of the game, or when they win, or at home. But playing with a calm and sober mind at such a moment? This shows that all of Conte's training basics, endless video conferencing and 11v0 matches, are starting to seep into the minds of his players. Under maximum pressure, they return to the manager's plan instead of their own desperate speculations.
(In that sense, it's reminiscent of City's 3-2 win over Queen's Park Rangers in extra time to win the 2011-12 Premier League.) That afternoon, admittedly, there were more opportunities, and City continued to patiently try to get through their own way, even as the audience lost their minds. Both goals from Bergveen tonight came later than Sergio Aguero appeared in the game. ）
But looking at the last few seconds here, the late arrival of the third goal, the euphoria of the away, seeing the players blindly rushing on the pitch, all of this is completely unbelievable and it is impossible not to return to Ajax in 2019. Nothing will ever be like Ajax again – how is this possible – but tonight there are more Ajax-like echoes here than anyone would have expected at first.
It's just a league game, only worth three points. With no Champions League final just around the corner, only this Sunday's league trip to Chelsea will be tougher. But Conte now has his own special moments, his own mini-Ajax, which can prop up the fans and players and prove to them that his approach is the right one.