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Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Leeds United: Antonio Conte secures first Premier League win as Spurs boss

By Gary RoseBBC Sport
Sergio Reguilon celebrates Tottenham's second goal
Sergio Reguilon scored the winner to give Antonio Conte his first Premier League victory as Spurs boss

Antonio Conte secured his first Premier League win in charge of Tottenham as Spurs staged an impressive second-half comeback to beat struggling Leeds.

The hosts failed to manage a single shot on or off target in a lacklustre opening 45 minutes with the determined visitors by far the better side.

Kalvin Phillips had an early free kick saved by Hugo Lloris and Adam Forshaw drove just wide before Leeds opened the scoring as half time approached when Daniel James stabbed in Jack Harrison's excellent cross.

There were some boos from the home fans as Tottenham left the pitch for the break, but Conte's side were much improved after the restart, twice hitting the woodwork early on.

First, Harry Kane - anonymous in the first half - broke clear of the defence and his powerful low effort squirmed under Illan Meslier and hit the base of the upright before Song Heung-min's heavily-deflected strike hit the crossbar.

The equaliser arrived just before the hour mark when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg curled into the far corner after good work by Lucas Moura.

Tottenham kept up the pressure and the turnaround was complete in the 69th minute when Eric Dier's free-kick deflected off the wall and onto the post, but Sergio Reguilon was there to poke in the rebound and score his first Premier League goal for Spurs.

The home side then closed out the game to secure a win that moves them up to seventh, four points off the top four.

Leeds, meanwhile, remain 17th and just two points above the relegation zone.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Leeds: Antonio Conte impressed with Spurs second-half response

A tale of two contrasting halves

When Conte emerged from the tunnel before the start of the game there was applause from the home fans as they greeted their new manager for his first game in the league at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

But that was all they had to cheer about in a significantly below-par display in the first half.

Meslier was untroubled in the Leeds goal as Tottenham's wait for a shot on target in the Premier League passed the four-hour mark. Kane, fresh from scoring seven goals in two international appearances, never looked like adding to his solitary Premier League goal as he again struggled to make an impact at club level.

Leeds, in contrast, looked like the team of last season as they attacked with pace and precision and belied their injury problems to put in a dominant performance.

But the game turned on its head in the second half as whatever Conte said at the interval worked wonders.

Spurs came out looking considerably more alert, quicker to every ball, more direct with their attacks and could have won by a bigger margin but for the woodwork. Son also sent a dipping strike just wide in the closing stages.

There is still work to be done, most notably finding out how to get the best out of Kane.

But the manner in which Conte was able to rectify what was so wrong in the opening period bodes well for Tottenham fans' hopes of success under the Italian, who is yet to taste defeat since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo.

Tottenham 2-1 Leeds: Bielsa praises Leeds in first half but says result was 'fair'

Player of the match

JamesDaniel James

with an average of 7.75

Tottenham Hotspur

  1. Squad number7Player nameSon Heung-min
    Average rating

    6.46

  2. Squad number3Player nameReguilón
    Average rating

    6.32

  3. Squad number27Player nameLucas Moura
    Average rating

    6.26

  4. Squad number5Player nameHøjbjerg
    Average rating

    6.08

  5. Squad number1Player nameLloris
    Average rating

    6.01

  6. Squad number15Player nameDier
    Average rating

    5.61

  7. Squad number6Player nameD Sánchez
    Average rating

    5.54

  8. Squad number25Player nameTanganga
    Average rating

    5.50

  9. Squad number33Player nameDavies
    Average rating

    5.47

  10. Squad number19Player nameRyan Sessegnon
    Average rating

    5.46

  11. Squad number12Player nameEmerson Royal
    Average rating

    5.36

  12. Squad number8Player nameWinks
    Average rating

    5.11

  13. Squad number20Player nameAlli
    Average rating

    4.92

  14. Squad number10Player nameKane
    Average rating

    4.75

Leeds United

  1. Squad number20Player nameJames
    Average rating

    7.75

  2. Squad number23Player namePhillips
    Average rating

    7.69

  3. Squad number30Player nameGelhardt
    Average rating

    7.34

  4. Squad number22Player nameHarrison
    Average rating

    7.23

  5. Squad number4Player nameForshaw
    Average rating

    7.08

  6. Squad number21Player nameStruijk
    Average rating

    6.84

  7. Squad number15Player nameDallas
    Average rating

    6.75

  8. Squad number14Player nameLlorente
    Average rating

    6.74

  9. Squad number1Player nameMeslier
    Average rating

    6.71

  10. Squad number43Player nameKlich
    Average rating

    6.47

  11. Squad number6Player nameCooper
    Average rating

    6.41

  12. Squad number39Player nameMcKinstry
    Average rating

    5.87

  13. Squad number3Player nameFirpo
    Average rating

    5.48

  14. Squad number11Player nameRoberts
    Average rating

    4.64

Line-ups

Tottenham

Formation 3-4-2-1

  • 1Lloris
  • 25TangangaSubstituted forD Sánchezat 68'minutes
  • 15Dier
  • 33Davies
  • 12Emerson RoyalBooked at 90mins
  • 5Højbjerg
  • 8Winks
  • 3ReguilónSubstituted forR Sessegnonat 79'minutes
  • 27Lucas MouraSubstituted forAlliat 88'minutes
  • 7Son Heung-min
  • 10Kane

Substitutes

  • 2Doherty
  • 6D Sánchez
  • 11Gil
  • 14Rodon
  • 19R Sessegnon
  • 20Alli
  • 22Gollini
  • 23Bergwijn
  • 28Ndombele

Leeds

Formation 3-3-3-1

  • 1Meslier
  • 14Llorente
  • 6CooperBooked at 67mins
  • 23PhillipsBooked at 90mins
  • 4ForshawBooked at 65minsSubstituted forRobertsat 72'minutes
  • 21Struijk
  • 43KlichSubstituted forFirpoat 59'minutes
  • 15Dallas
  • 22Harrison
  • 20James
  • 30GelhardtBooked at 30minsSubstituted forMcKinstryat 87'minutes

Substitutes

  • 3Firpo
  • 11Roberts
  • 13Klaesson
  • 35Cresswell
  • 37Drameh
  • 39McKinstry
  • 42Greenwood
  • 45McCarron
  • 47Jenkins
Referee:
Andre Marriner
Attendance:
58,989

Match Stats

Home TeamTottenhamAway TeamLeeds
Possession
Home43%
Away57%
Shots
Home13
Away18
Shots on Target
Home4
Away7
Corners
Home4
Away8
Fouls
Home11
Away12

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Leeds United 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur 2, Leeds United 1.

  3. Booking

    Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  4. Post update

    Offside, Tottenham Hotspur. Harry Kane tries a through ball, but Dele Alli is caught offside.

  5. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Ryan Sessegnon.

  6. Booking

    Emerson Royal (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  7. Post update

    Daniel James (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  8. Post update

    Foul by Emerson Royal (Tottenham Hotspur).

  9. Substitution

    Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Dele Alli replaces Lucas Moura.

  10. Post update

    Diego Llorente (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  11. Post update

    Foul by Ryan Sessegnon (Tottenham Hotspur).

  12. Substitution

    Substitution, Leeds United. Stuart McKinstry replaces Joe Gelhardt.

  13. Post update

    Attempt saved. Daniel James (Leeds United) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Pascal Struijk.

  14. Post update

    Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  15. Post update

    Foul by Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur).

  16. Post update

    Joe Gelhardt (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  17. Post update

    Foul by Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur).

  18. Post update

    Attempt missed. Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.

  19. Substitution

    Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Ryan Sessegnon replaces Sergio Reguilón.

  20. Post update

    Attempt missed. Lucas Moura (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Davinson Sánchez.

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