Tottenham Hotspur's manager Antonio Conte has made a bold claim about Manchester United and his former club Chelsea amid the intensified race for a top four finish.
The Spurs beat Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon to go six points clear at fourth place of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, who are six points behind them at fifth place. This was a few days after Antonio Conte's men were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League by Seria A side AC Milan on a 1-0 aggregate.
While Mikel Arteta's Arsenal and Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are at loggerheads for this campaign's Premier League title, Antonio Conte believes there is only one spot left at the Premier League top four as he isn't sure Manchester United will be leaving the third place the soonest.
Although Tottenham Hotspur will have to worry about not just Liverpool but also Newcastle United, who have two outstanding games and are sitting at sixth, Antonio Conte believes Brighton Albion are as well in contention while asserting that his former side Chelsea are capable of securing a Champions League spot ahead of the next campaign.
"We know very well the race for a place in the Champions League will be really, really tough." "You see the competitors," Conte said after Spurs beat Forest thanks to Harry Kane’s double and a Son Heung-min goal.
"You see, there are many, many teams involved, and I think in this moment, there is only one place available because Man City and Arsenal are fighting to win the Premier League, and Man United, I think, are showing great continuity of good results."
"I think there is one place and there are many teams, many important teams, that are in this race."
"We have to try to do our best and for sure I repeat for us to finish in the top four is like to win the Premier League. It happened last season, and I spoke about miracles."
The Italian manager, however, is considering a serious race for the top finish as the end of the season approaches. Given how Chelsea have gotten their mojo back, winning their last two Premier League games and also staging an impressive comeback in the UEFA Champions League against Borussia Dortmund, Antonio Conte is tipping his former side to challenge for a spot in the top four.
"I continue to say maybe this season it will be much more difficult—much more difficult because Liverpool is a competitor in this race," he continued.
"Newcastle is a competitor, and Newcastle is a different Newcastle than in the past." "They invest a lot of money, and they have a strong team."
"You see Chelsea and what happened there and their position, but I don’t consider Chelsea outside [the top-four race]." They have the possibility of winning the last 11 or 12 games in a row because the squad is really, really strong.
Antonio Conte, however, has challenged his players to focus on getting a spot in the elite European competition next season.
"But we need to think about ourselves." A top club looks at themselves, not at other results. "We have to be focused on our path and try to do our best until the end of the season, and then we see which position we are able to achieve," he added.
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