Antonio’s verdict on Roma: “It’s positive to have this type of test”

Antonio Conte welcomed another tough test as we completed our pre-season schedule with a narrow loss against AS Roma in Haifa, Israel on Saturday evening.

Roger Ibanez scored the only goal of the game at the Sammy Ofer Stadium, a header from Paulo Dybala’s corner on 29 minutes. In a match of few chances, that was a source of frustration for Antonio, but there were positives to take with our Premier League opener against Southampton at home now less than a week away (Saturday 6 August, 3pm).

Summer signings Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic made their first starts, while Fraser Forster, Clement Lenglet and Richarlison all featured in the second half. Ben Davies returned from injury, but remained on the bench for this one.

Speaking to SPURSPLAY pitchside, Antonio told us: “For sure, it was a very tough game, but I think it’s good in this way, because in one week, we have to start the season. It’s positive to have this type of test, a tough test, and to understand if we want to try to be competitive and try to get a win in every game, we have to continue to go strong in every situation.

“The players know we don’t want to lose, even in a friendly game. Tonight, we lost due to a detail, because we conceded a goal from a corner, and we have to pay more attention because if you want to go to another level, you have to take care of the details.

“The positives are that the players are without injury, and we recovered Ben Davies. I preferred not to take a risk with him. Lenglet in the second half was another positive, Perisic and Doherty, I tried to give minutes to them because they are coming back from long injuries. Tonight was positive for them to play and to get minutes. We need to reach the peak of fitness quickly but, for sure, there are a lot of positive things in this game.”