Conflict between Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte Source: SITA/AP/Ian Walton LONDON – After Sunday’s heated London derby with Tottenham (2:2), Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel was angry with referee Anthony Taylor, who, according to him, conceded two irregular goals to the opponent. The German coach, on the other hand, has no problem with his Italian counterpart Antonio Conte, with whom he had a rift and both received a red card after the second round of the English league. Not one of their goals should have been valid, Tuchel thundered Tottenham at the Stamford Bridge stadium and saved a draw only in the sixth minute of the set-up by Harry Kane with a header after a corner kick. But before that, Cristian Romero apparently pulled the hair of home Marco Cucurella. “I think both goals were irregular and in video referee time it’s hard to accept. I’m sorry to say so, but the referee played the main role, no one else. Neither of their goals should have counted. Before the first one, there was a clear foul on Kai (Havertza ) and the game continued, Richarlison was clearly offside. And since when can you pull your opponent’s hair? I don’t understand that and I don’t accept it,” said Tuchel in a television interview. Tuchel v Conte round 2 pic.twitter.com/YwWZepUujc — 433 (@433) August 14, 2022 He agreed with the “Blues” supporters, according to whom Taylor has damaged Chelsea several times and should never whistle again. “It’s not just the fans who want it. I can assure you that everyone in our cabin thinks so. The players know what’s happening on the pitch,” declared the former coach of Dortmund or PSG. The coaches tackled each other during the final handshake, sparking a mass jostle between the two camps. “I thought that when we shake hands, we look each other in the eye. He had a different opinion. It wasn’t necessary, but a lot of things in that match weren’t necessary,” Tuchel said. Just Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel flexing his muscles in his post-match press conference… pic.twitter.com/SGHp9sRc8V — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 14, 2022 “There is no animosity between us. I take it as fair a fight from both of us. We didn’t insult each other, we didn’t punch each other, nobody got hurt. We fought for our teams and it was part of an intense match,” added Tuchel. If there is a problem, it’s between me and him Conte tried to downplay the coaches’ fight, who had already provoked the home bench with an emotional celebration of the guests’ first goal. “If there’s a problem, it’s between me and him. I think we all enjoyed it. I’ll be more careful next time. We’ll just shake hands and solve problems. I’ll stay on my bench, he’ll stay on his,” said the former coach Chelsea. He was angered by referee Taylor’s criticism. “As you well know, I never talk about referees’ verdicts. Never. When I see that others do it, it turns me on a bit. But at the same time, I say that everyone can do what they want. But I will never comment on the referees’ statements in England.” pointed out Conte. “If there is a problem, the problem is between me and him not for the others” Antonio Conte says Spurs showed some improvement from last season against Chelsea but they need to show more. pic.twitter.com/ef7t0uUwwO — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 14, 2022 “I’m not a pacifist and when I see aggression I respond with aggression. But I don’t see it as a problem. The most important thing was the match. And it was a great match between the two top teams. It was very important for us to get a point,” added Conte. The Italian coach admitted that his team still lags behind the opponent in terms of quality: “Chelsea showed that they have a really excellent team. But compared to the previous season, we performed better. However, the difference in quality is obvious. Chelsea won the Champions League two years ago, last year won the Club World Cup, reached the final of the FA Cup and the League Cup. Yes, there is a difference between Chelsea and Tottenham, but we are here to close it. We lost to them three times last season, we drew this time, so we took a small step forward.” Photo gallery for the article Number of photos: 11 Author: © Video list: Twitter/433, Sky Sports Premier League Source: ČTK, TASR