Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson has slammed Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte for their confrontation following Chelsea‘s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, August 14.
The Blues missed out on three points in their first home Premier League fixture last weekend. Kalidou Koulibaly broke the deadlock with a venomous volley in the first half, but Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg equalized for Spurs in the 68th minute.
Although Reece James put the Blues ahead once again in the 77th minute, Harry Kane netted the visitors’ second equalizer deep into injury time.
After the final whistle, Tuchel and Conte squared up against one another following a routine post-match handshake on the sidelines. Both managers were promptly sent off by referee Anthony Taylor.
In his column for Sky Sports, Merson shared his two cents about the on-pitch altercation between the two tacticians. He wrote:
“These two teams don’t like each other. And these matches never let you down, something always happens and it’s never dull. I don’t mind if things boil over, Tuchel and Conte are very passionate managers. But when it comes to squaring up to each other, I don’t buy into it because neither manager thinks they are going to get hit in the chops.”
He continued:
“If you’re going to square up, why not have a massive fight for charity next week and raise millions of pounds? They won’t, and that’s what makes me sick. These managers are squaring up against each other safe in the knowledge that nothing is going to happen. I don’t mind the passion but draw the line at face-to-face confrontations, the game doesn’t need it, it does my head in.”
While Chelsea will next face Leeds United at Elland Road on August 21, Tottenham will lock horns with Wolverhampton Wanderers at home on August 20.
Tuchel opens up about handshake incident after Chelsea-Tottenham clash
Chelsea boss Tuchel explained that he felt disrespected by his Tottenham counterpart Conte for not looking at him while shaking hands. The German tactician told Sky Sports [via Mirror]:
“I thought when we shake hands you looked in each other eyes, he [Conte] had a different opinion. It was not necessary but a lot of things were not necessary.”
Chelsea and Tottenham now have four points each after two matches and sit seventh and fourth, respectively, in the Premier League table.