'Fair tackle' as Blues boss insists no hard feelings

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said he was happy to take a "fair tackle" from Tottenham boss Antonio Conte after both were shown red cards for clashing twice during Sunday's 2-2 draw.

Conte's over-exuberant celebrations of Spurs' first equalizer resulted in the two coaches being booked for squaring up.

Blues boss Tuchel then responded by running down the touchline in celebration when Chelsea retook the lead through Reece James 13 minutes from time.

But Harry Kane's 96th-minute equalizer meant Conte had the last laugh.

Tuchel was unhappy at the Italian for not making eye contact during a handshake at full time, which sparked another melee between both sets of coaches and players.

"It was hot from the temperature and hot between the benches and hot on the field and hot between the spectators," said Tuchel with temperatures soaring above 30 Celsius in the English capital.

"There are no hard feelings. I feel like it was a fair tackle from him and a fair tackle from me.

"We did not insult each other, we did not hit each other, we were fighting for our teams and from my side there are absolutely no hard feelings. I'm surprised that we both got a red card for that."

Tuchel's ire was instead directed toward the officials as both Spurs' goals could have been disallowed.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's strike was allowed to stand despite a potential foul on Kai Havertz in the buildup and Richarlison standing in an offside position when the Dane's shot was hit.

Before the corner leading to Kane's equalizer, Spurs defender Sergio Romero also escaped a red card for dragging Marc Cucurella to the ground by his hair.

Conte ducked questions about his row with Tuchel, but admitted a gap between the sides remains despite Spurs' improvement.

"The difference is clear. This team won the Champions League two years ago, last year won the Club World Cup, got to the final of the FA Cup and Carabao (League) Cup," said Conte.

"There is a difference between Chelsea and Tottenham but we are here to reduce this gap. Last season we lost (against Chelsea) three times, this time we drew so it's a little step forward."

AFP