Antonio Conte jokes Son will remain on Tottenham bench after hat-trick

Antonio Conte has joked he will leave Son Heung-min on the bench again following the South Korean star’s hat-trick against Leicester. The match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was looking tight until his arrival but three goals within 14 minutes, all from Son, ultimately meant Spurs ran out comfortable winners in a 6-2 victory. 

Conte raised eyebrows when the teamsheets were revealed after he left fan favourite Son on the bench. The 30-year-old has started the season slightly off form but used his benching as motivation as he bagged a hat-trick to seal the 6-2 victory over struggling Leicester.

His first two goals were particularly impressive, banging two long-range efforts into the top corner. However, it appears his manager could be about to repeat the tactic again as he joked he will leave him on the bench if he continues to come on to score three goals each time. 

“I am really happy for Sonny today,” he told Sky Sports after the game. “You know what I think of the player. I said to him if you’re going to score three goals in 30 minutes ‘maybe we can repeat this experiment’, but I was joking.

“I’m lucky, I have a really good group of players, that are really good people. We have to start thinking in a different way if we are going to make the next step.”

The match in north London had been a tight affair with Leicester scoring twice and offering much to the game in an attacking sense. However, they left huge gaps defensively something Conte admitted he was looking to exploit by bringing on the pacey winger.  

He said: “I decided to bring Bissouma in and play with three midfielders and move Sonny nearer to Kane to exploit the spaces it was really good because it gave us more balance and we exploited the ability of Kane and Son.”

The Italian boss was also keen to stress that his decision to bench Son had little to do with the player’s form, insisting it was instead just rotation to help keep him fresh in a packed schedule. 

“I think that it is important to understand well that when you play a lot of games in the row that when you’re not psychically tired, you can be mentally tired, and you’re not able to play every game,” Conte said. “I was a player and I know you want to play massive games – to play Champions League and Premier League are massive games – they are starting to understand the rotation.

“To have a player of Son’s level on the bench means that in one moment I can change the game and also with the rotation at the back today and when Bissouma came on he gave us a lot of strength and energy and I think this is the right path for us. There are 12 games in a row after the international break and all the players will be involved.

“If the player is intelligent and a good player and person, it depends on this. Every decision that I am going to take is for the best of the team, always. They have to understand this. Sometimes to start on the bench and to come in is important because in the next game you might be in the starting XI but at the same time you are recharged of the mental and physical energy.”

Son will be pushing to make his way back into the starting line-up after the international break when Tottenham travel to the Emirates to face fierce rivals Arsenal in the north London derby. It is highly unlikely that Conte will bench one of his star players for such an important fixture, especially following his impressive showing against Leicester.