ANTONIO CONTE erupted in the stands after his Tottenham side secured a place in the Champions League knock-out phase.
Conte largely kept his cool inside the Stade Velodrome on Tuesday night as his team fought Marseille to stay in the competition.
But the Italian, 53, couldn’t contain his excitement as his Spurs team reached the knockouts with a dramatic 2-1 win.
Group D was a nail-biter right down to the last minute with Sporting Lisbon, Eintracht Frankfurt, Tottenham and Marseille all standing a chance of qualifying if results went their way.
At one point, it wasn’t looking good for Spurs as they fell 1-0 behind just before half-time to a Chancel Mbemba header.
Conte cut a cold figure in the stands with the boss serving a suspension after being sent off in the 1-1 draw with Sporting last week.
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Clement Lenglet drew Spurs level in his home country, but his goal was met with no reaction from Conte.
But as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg sealed the deal in added-time, Conte went berserk with Spurs finishing top of the group.
The 2016/17 Premier League-winning manager jumped up from his seat and celebrated with those around him before letting out a sigh of relief.
Last season’s Europa League winners Frankfurt took second spot, joining Spurs in the knockouts.
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Sporting dropped down into the Europa League while Marseille will see out this season with no European football.
Conte has been under pressure in recent weeks, drawing criticism for his defensive style.
The criticism comes with Spurs sitting pretty in the Prem in third and just five points off table-toppers Arsenal.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
