By Christian Radnedge
London - Tottenham Hotspur coach Antonio Conte said his side needed to do better to keep their focus after almost letting 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt get a draw in the closing stages of their 3-2 win in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Frankfurt had taken an early lead but Spurs came back through two goals from Son Heung-min either side of a Harry Kane penalty before halftime.
Frankfurt had defender Tuta sent off after 60 minutes but pulled back a goal late on as the game looked to be petering out and they pressed for a dramatic equaliser after Kane had missed another spot kick.
Conte was screaming at his players to make their extra-man advantage count in the nervy closing stages at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium as his side held on for the win which takes them one victory away from the last 16.
"Honestly, I felt a danger (in the final minutes)... I tried to be involved, to shout at the players to be focused and to protect the result because for us the win was really, really important," a breathless Conte told a news conference.
"It's a pity because to consider what we did during the game, I think we played a really good game with a lot of good combinations and we created a lot of chances," he added.
"(But) In the final part anything could have happened and for this reason, it has to be a big (lesson) for us to avoid next time and to be focused until the end."
Conte's ire did not stretch to Kane's penalty miss as he praised the striker's all-round play throughout the game, though he will be hoping he recovers fully for the visit of Everton in the Premier League on Saturday.
"We are talking about a player that finds it very difficult to miss penalties. He's a killer. I think also that today in the end he was really, really tired because he runs a lot and he played for the team and he played in a fantastic way today," the Italian coach said.
"He scored and this is the good news for us, also Sonny. Now, this game ended and (it's a) good win, we are leading our group. We need to be focused on the Premier League because we have a tough game against Everton."
Reuters