Following Tottenham’s 2-0 win at home against Marseille in what was the first fixture of the group stage of the Champions League, the Premier League side’s manager Antonio Conte was impressed by the French side’s style of play and their performance, particularly in the first half – as transcribed by L’Équipe.

“Olympique de Marseille are an excellent team, physically very strong, which tries to win the duels everywhere on the pitch. In the first half, we had difficulties, especially in the duels. We only had one chance, where we kept the ball and attacked the space, and ended up with a shot from Harry Kane. In the second half we did much better in those situations. Son took the space and caused the red card. The game changed then.”

“I also tried to create difficulties for Marseille with the changes. We pushed forward with (Dejan) Kulusevski and (Ivan) Perisic, then we changed the centre-backs with fresh players to push forward, with Japhet Tanganga and Ben Davies. In the end, we took the three points. It was very important for us to start this competition in the best way possible, it’s really important.”

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