Antonio's verdict on fine win at Leeds

Antonio Conte praised the players for ‘matching good football with a will to fight’ as we toppled Leeds United 4-0 at Elland Road on Saturday.

We started superbly and stormed into a 3-0 lead by half-time. It was wing-back to wing-back for the opener as Ryan Sessegnon crossed for Matt Doherty to score his first goal for the Club after 10 minutes. Doherty was involved again as we made it 2-0 five minutes later, this time threading a pass into Dejan Kulusevski, who drilled home from 16 yards.

Harry Kane scored an exquisite third on the volley from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s inch-perfect pass to make it 3-0 inside half-hour, and we were in complete control. Illan Meslier came to the rescue for Leeds time and again in the second half, notably one-on-one to deny Heung-Min Son and Steven Bergwijn, before Kane and Son had the final word.

This time, Son provided a clinical finish to another defence-splitting pass from Kane to make it 4-0 as the pair finally broke Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba’s record for most goal combinations in the Premier League - that was their 37th.

Speaking to us pitchside, Antonio said: “I’m pleased for my players. Today, I asked for answers, not only about footballing aspects, but especially in the character, in the spirit, in the desire, the will to fight, the will to win duels.

“Today, in a difficult game - don’t forget to play against Leeds away, in this stadium, is not easy, they are used to fight, to win duels, to go one-v-one and to play at high intensity - to have these types of answers is good for me.

“We matched good football with the will to fight, the desire to win the ball and win the duels, and to be strong. We have to be happy. We have to be strong in many aspects, not just football aspects. If you want to be competitive, you have to be strong in your spirit, you have to be warriors in every game. Your opponent has to feel this, and when this happens, you are ready to win.”