Antonio Conte decided to ignore question about the “shush” celebration of Tottenham striker Richarlison after Tottenham Hotspur victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The Brazilian international appears to ‘shush’ Conte after scoring in the Premier League victory over Forest.
In the third minute, the former Everton forward appeared to score first, and his celebration seemed to be targeted at the Italian manager.
The goal was disallowed by VAR due to an offside offense, but Spurs still won 3-1 thanks to goals from Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.
Recall that Richarlison’s fiery television interview went viral this weekend. In his response, Conte referred to the forward’s requests for greater playing time as “selfish”.
Yet, the manager started the forward in Saturday’s game against Forest, which may have surprised many fans.
Richarlison was a substitute for Tottenham’s midweek Champions League exit, which came following a 1-0 loss at San Siro and a goalless draw against AC Milan at home.
At the press conference on Friday, Conte addressed that by saying: “First of all, I watched the interview of Richarlison. He didn’t criticise me. He said his season was s***, and he’s right. His season has been not good.”
“He had injuries, played and scored in the Champions League and then went to the World Cup and then had a serious injury. He’s scored no goals for us. I think he was really honest to say his season was not good. His season has not finished yet. If he deserves to play, I’ll give him the opportunity.”
In that regard, Conte kept his word when he started Richarlison in the match against Forest. Nonetheless, the forward’s attention seemed to be on responding to his boss when he put the ball in the net. Sky posed the query to Conte following the game.
Instead of reacting to the Richarlison’s “shush” celebration, Conte said, “Honestly, I try to make the best decision every time about our starting line-up.
“In this case, I preferred today to start with Richi and to rest Dejan. Against West Ham and Chelsea, I rested Son.”
“The problem is that sometimes I don’t understand those who do not understand the importance of rotation. You need to have good players on the bench, because the bench can change the game.”
“If you want to aspire to win trophies and to win in the future, then you have to think about and count 16, 17 or 18 players. To make rotations and to change players game by game.”
“Many times I see a player who wants to play all the time, but if you play then you have to perform and if you are tired then you do not perform. You might enjoy that you played, but we lost the game.”
What Antonio Conte Thinks About Richarlison
During a contentious spell with Richarlison, Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte has urged supporters to have faith in his decisions.
Following the 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, a result that solidifies their place in the top-four, Conte came out swinging in his post-match press conference.
The Italian reiterated that he is “not so stupid” when asked about Richarlison, who unleashed a stinging assault on the coach after he was benched for the Champions League last-16 elimination to AC Milan on Wednesday.
Fourth-placed Tottenham has surpassed Liverpool in the race for a Champions League spot by six points. However, Jurgen Klopp’s team still have a game in hand.
