London (AFP) – Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said it was “too early” to talk about the Premier League title after his team recaptured the summit by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Saturday.
Chelsea fell behind to Christian Eriksen’s stunning 11th-minute strike, but equalised through Pedro Rodriguez’s exquisite curler and took victory after Victor Moses rammed home Diego Costa’s cross.
It was Chelsea’s seventh successive league win — their longest such sequence within the same season since 2006-07 — and took them back to the top of the table ahead of next weekend’s trip to Manchester City.
“It’s too early to talk of the title,” said Conte, who had seen Liverpool and City overtake his team earlier in the day.
“This league is very tough. Tottenham showed in this league there are six or seven teams that can win the title.
“It’s important to continue in this way and improve the confidence.”
Defeat at Stamford Bridge completed a wretched week for Tottenham, who were dumped out of the Champions League in the group phase on Tuesday after losing 2-1 at Monaco.
But despite seeing his team lose their unbeaten record, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino felt the outcome of the match did not reflect how well his team had played.
“If we analyse the game, we were better,” said the Argentine.
“We competed very well and we were a bit unlucky to concede. The second half we conceded a goal very early.
“We are disappointed, but we need to be pleased for the performance and the way we competed against a very good team.”
