London, Nov 5: Antonio Conte’s first game in charge of Tottenham had five first-half goals, three red cards and a glimpse of the challenge he faces at the London club.
Tottenham held on for a 3-2 home win over Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa Conference League on Thursday after nearly giving up a three-goal lead in Conte’s debut. The Italian was appointed Spurs’ new manager following Nuno Espirito Santo’s dismissal on Monday.
Former Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho also avoided another embarrassment as Roma scored a late equalizer to draw 2-2 at home against Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt — which had routed the Italian club 6-1 at home in the previous round. Conte seemed to have already given Tottenham a much-needed spark as his team led 3-0 after just 28 minutes, but Vitesse pulled two goals back before halftime.
Spurs then had defender Cristian Romero sent off in the 59th and were under pressure until Vitesse had two players red-carded in the final 10 minutes.