Wembley will be 'great for Tottenham's opponents', insists Antonio Conte after Chelsea's dramatic late win

The Blues followed up their FA Cup semi-final win over Spurs on the same ground last season with a late win on Sunday

Conte is happy to not be mentioned as title favourites yet (Getty)

Antonio Conte says that Wembley will be “great for opponents”, after Chelsea won 2-1 in Tottenham Hotspur’s first game in their temporary home, perpetuating their poor recent record at the stadium.

Mauricio Pochettino had earlier dismissed the idea of a ‘Wembley effect’ and played down the possibility his side might have a complex about the stadium, but Conte raised a potential problem for Spurs as he claimed that visiting clubs would enjoy the atmosphere.

“Honestly, honestly, I think to see this atmosphere was great,” the Italian said. “In this stadium, Wembley, a fantastic stadium, to feel this atmosphere is amazing. Also for the opponent.

“Honestly. It was amazing. In this atmosphere, so strong for us. Our fans tried to push the same, despite 70,000 Tottenham supporters. But, honestly, I think to see this atmosphere is great also for the opponents.”

Conte also praised the “spirit” and “fight” of his side as they recovered from both last week’s shock 3-2 defeat to Burnley and a late Michy Batshuayi own goal in this game for Marcos Alonso to score a late winner.

“I think I must be pleased. I want to thank my players. Every one. Because they showed me great desire, great spirit, great will, great heart, great will to fight. I saw today the fighters. For sure, I saw a lot of positive things in a moment that's not easy for us with the suspensions and the injuries.

“Don't forget [Eden] Hazard stays out. Despite this, to play against Tottenham, away, and to win is a fantastic result. It's not easy. We suffered during the game, but it was normal. I think that, during the game, we showed we were always dangerous in every moment. We suffered but we were ready to try and score the second goal, the third goal.

“Don't forget last season, after 13 wins in a row, we lost 2-0 at Tottenham. Instead, today, I saw a lot of positive things. I want to thank our fans, too, because the atmosphere today was incredible. It's great to play in this type of atmosphere. I think our fans were very important. They tried to push us in every moment of the game, above all when we were suffering a lot.”

Much more upbeat about his team’s chances after the win, Conte claimed it is not a problem that the champions are not considered favourites ahead of Manchester United or Manchester City.

“For us, it's very important we only focus on ourselves. We know very well that a lot of teams improved if you compare with last season. But also, don't forget that this team was very strong last season. They [the Manchester clubs] invested a lot last season. And also invested again this season. But we have to concentrate on ourselves.

“It's not important if we are not favourites in this league. It was the same last season. We know we are trying to improve our team, our squad, and the club is trying to do its best in the transfer market to try and improve the team and the squad.

“But I repeat I'm very happy when I see this type of game. I'm not speaking about football, but this spirit, this heart, this desire. I must be satisfied because my players gave me everything today. They did the same last season. This season we started with the first half not so good against Burnley but, in the second half, they showed me again a great spirit.”

Conte also praised the impact of David Luiz and Tiemoue Bakayoko, with the former filling in in midfield and the latter making his debut and playing 90 minutes despite not being fully fit.

“I think David played very well,” he added. “It was an amazing performance from David. He played with great experience, with great personality. I think he was a point of reference for the other players.

“Don't forget, today we played with four new players from last season. When you change two players, we replaced David Luiz and [Gary] Cahill with a young player in [Andreas] Christensen, and [Antonio] Rudiger with a second appearance, it's not easy. But despite this we showed great desire to stay compact, not lose the balance. To show, also to be the champions. It was very important, this.

“It was the first game for Baka. Don't forget that, sometimes the motivation brings you to get over your physical condition. Also if you are not at the top. But a great stadium, great opponent, great occasion, great atmosphere brought him to have an amazing performance. But for sure he can improve. He needs to adapt more to our style of football.”