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BEN DAVIES says fired-up Antonio Conte has his Tottenham players wanting to run through brick walls for him.Spurs boss Conte is famously animated on the touchline in every game, raucously celebrating each time his team scores.
Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel were embroiled in a bust-up on Sunday
But he took it to new levels in Sunday’s feisty 2-2 draw against old club Chelsea, where he was sent off along with Blues boss Thomas Tuchel after a bust-up with the German.
Tuchel was annoyed Conte did not look him in the eye when shaking hands at the final whistle – seconds after Harry Kane’s dramatic leveller – and a melee ensued.
The pair had already had a heated exchange after Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg’s equaliser for 1-1, while Tuchel did his best Jose Mourinho impression by running down the touchline to celebrate Reece James putting the hosts ahead on 77 minutes.
Both managers will now be banned from the dugout for this weekend’s games – with Spurs hosting Wolves and Chelsea travelling to Leeds – and have been charged by the FA for their conduct.
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Yet left-back Davies said of Conte: “We’re used to seeing that passion from him!                                                                                                              
“His record speaks for itself. He’s a world-class manager.
“But as a person and as a man on the side, you can’t help but want to run through a brick wall for him.
“He’s animated, he’s very clear in what he wants from his team. He’s very passionate. When he speaks, you can’t help but just sit there and listen.”
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Hojbjerg labelled Conte’s passion on the touchline as “important” for the Spurs team, who had been trailing until the sixth minute of injury time when Kane struck.
The Dane said: “It’s his personality and something as a player you know he brings. It’s important.
“I think in this case the officials could have said, ‘OK, no need for cards in this game’ after the finish. And just leave it a bit, you know?
“I think it was a bit…it’s difficult to comment on decisions but I didn’t think it was necessary for the officials to be giving red cards after the game.”
Kalidou Koulibaly’s superb volley had given Chelsea the lead before Hojbjerg levelled – though Tuchel felt there had been a foul in the build-up, as well as claiming Richarlison was offside when the Dane struck.
James looked to have given the hosts a deserved victory only for Kane to flick home a header off the England defender at the death, sparking the wild scenes.
Hojbjerg added: “There were moments in the game when I think we were too far from controlling the game. Sometimes even without the ball you can be in control, and I thought after the 1-1 especially we were a bit too emotional and lost control of the game.
“This was not, from my point-of-view, so good from the team. But the way we came back and believed was important.
“This is a step forward definitely but it’s difficult for me to celebrate a draw.”
Spurs have significantly bolstered their squad this summer with SIX new arrivals – and it was the introduction of £60million new-boy Richarlison off the bench which proved pivotal.
The Brazilian’s energy and directness gave Chelsea a new problem to deal with and suddenly Conte’s side looked a real threat.
Ex-Bayern Munich midfielder Hojbjerg, 27, said: “I think if you want to be a top, top team, you have to have two players that can contribute in every position.
“That’s what I learned when I grew up in Munich in my early years in professional football. They had minimum two players in every position. And it makes everyone stay on their toes.”
Davies agreed and also claimed good pal Kane is looking in tip-top shape after netting his first goal of the season.
The Welshman, 29, said: “It does give you a lot of confidence knowing the quality we’ve got that can come off the bench and change the game for us.
“The boys who came on I thought they did exactly what we wanted them to, which was to have an impact.
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“I think Harry is looking as good as he ever has.
“He’s a top player. He’s shown time and time again the class that he’s got and he’s off the mark again. Let’s hope he can have a successful season.” More

THOMAS TUCHEL and Antonio Conte have been SENT OFF after a heated exchange at the end of the game between Chelsea and Tottenham. The pair first clashed following Pierre Emile Hojbjerg’s controversial equaliser with Anthony Taylor awarding both a yellow card.
Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel squared up at full-timeCredit: AFP
Tuchel refused to let go of Conte’s handCredit: Getty
The pair had to be separated after the gameCredit: AFP
They were then both SENT OFF at the end of the game after Tuchel refused to let go of his counterpart’s hand at full-time.
It came after Harry Kane equalised in the final minute to allow Tottenham to escape with a point.
Tempers flared as the game was marred by a succession of controversial decisions from the referee.
Rodrigo Bentancur and Christian Romero were both involved in incidents which should have arguably ended in free kicks for Chelsea, but instead saw the Blues conceding shortly after.
Chelsea took the lead twice in the game, the first coming courtesy of a fabulous strike from Kalidou Koulibaly and the second from a powerful Reece James effort.
However, Spurs showed their fighting spirit and refused to allow Chelsea to win the game.
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Bentancur scythed down Kai Havertz ahead of the first equaliser and even stopped playing when it appeared Taylor would call a foul.
But Taylor deemed the midfielder to have won the ball and allowed play to continue as the ball progressed towards the Chelsea penalty area, where Ben Davies laid it off to Hojbjerg to drive an effort home.
Defender Romero was caught pulling at the hair of Chelsea new boy Marc Cucurella ahead of the last-minute drama which unfolded.
Romero tugged back at the Spaniard and brought him to the floor but again Taylor opted not to take any action against the Spurs man.
The next corner which came in then saw Kane glance a header in towards the far post, as he then went off in wild celebration towards the travelling support.
The full-time whistle followed along with the heated exchange between the two managers when they were both given their marching orders.
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Another bust-up in the tunnel followed straight after when Conte barged into Mateo Kovacic, who played no part in today’s game due to injury.
This led to the Croatian arguing with Spurs’ backroom staff who also had to split Conte and Tuchel apart while still on the pitch.
Following the game, Tuchel said: “I thought when we shake hands you looked in each other eyes. He had a different opinion. It was not necessary but a lot of things were not necessary.
“We both got a red card. I think it was not necessary. Another poor referee decision.
“No problem. It’s emotional, it’s football, it’s the game, it’s the Premier League. You love it, we are emotional on the touchline.
“If we meet, we meet. It’s between a football match, it’s men (and) two competitors.”
Tuchel also lamented the official’s decisions on the two flash points of the game.
“Clear foul on Havertz and a clear offside on Richarlison,” Tuchel added.
“Edu (Mendy) cannot see the ball. And Since when can you pull hair on the football field? They check it, and they don’t do anything.

“(But) I’m the happiest coach, we dominated for 90 minutes, it was a top performance. I’m sorry for my players.”
Spurs’ boss Conte revealed his frustrations from when his side played Chelsea last season but praised his team’s character to stay in the game today.
He said: “We are working to try to reduce this gap between us and Chelsea – today was a difficult game and I think that with the ball we could do much better.
“But at the same time, the speed was good, the personality to stay in the game was good.
“We have to understand that in every game you have to try to kill the opponent in a sporting way, otherwise the opponent is going to kill you.
“When we started to understand this, I think we are ready to take another important step.
“But in only eight months I think we did a lot of steps with these players and I have enjoyed a lot of work with them.
“Last season I was really frustrated because in three games we showed zero per cent possibility to get a result against Chelsea.
“Now we played a game with a different confidence. We still have to improve a lot because there is still a difference between us and them.
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“When you win and you lift trophies, you have another confidence and you know how to play some games and for sure today Chelsea were really concentrated to play against us.
“They played a good game but at the same time I think they found a tough opponent.” More