“I am enjoying watching the team,” wrote Antonio Conte in his pre-match notes. It would have been somewhat of a surprise if the Tottenham manager felt the same after 40 minutes of this encounter.
Despite dominating the opening exchanges against a disciplined Newcastle side, Spurs found themselves trailing to Fabian Schär’s opportunistic free-kick and with a mountain to climb to maintain their hopes of finishing in the top four this season. Down on the touchline a furious Conte could barely contain his frustration as he stamped his feet.
