Why did Conte and Tuchel clash in Chelsea vs. Tottenham draw? Red cards and manager history explained

Abraham Smith

Chelsea and Tottenham caused plenty of drama in their 2-2 Premier League draw on Sunday, but arguably the best action came from their two managers.

While the Blues and Spurs went above and beyond on the pitch and Harry Kane leveled in the dying seconds, Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte were the focus of post-game talks.

The two managers faced each other on the touchline for much of the competition and both made a point to celebrate before the other when their side scored.

Tuchel ran down the sidelines as Reece James gave Chelsea a late lead, but Conte would have the last laugh thanks to Kane’s header on death.

Frustration was inevitable after the final whistle as both managers were shown red cards after an incident that will go down in Premier League folklore.

Why did Conte and Tuchel get red cards?

As is usual after a game, both Conte and Tuchel went to shake hands after full-time, but the exchange quickly turned into something else.

Neither appeared to have any intention of letting go of the other’s hand and Conte turned angrily to confront Tuchel.

Both managers faced each other briefly and had to be separated from the coaching staff and players before referee Anthony Taylor came over to show them the red cards.

While Sunday’s dismissals meant little, they will mean both will not be on the sidelines for their next games.

Tottenham host Wolves on August 20 and Chelsea travel to Leeds for a game on August 21.

Why did Conte and Tuchel clashed?

A dramatic London derby on and off the pitch with Conte and Tuchel clearly desperate to claim the right to show off.

The two managers first clashed after Tottenham made it 1-1, with Conte celebrating towards Tuchel, who came over to confront the Spurs boss.

Tuchel then celebrated Chelsea’s next goal by running down the touchline, giving Conte even more reason to leave when Tottenham equalized in the last minute.

After the game, Tuchel said he wasn’t happy that Conte wasn’t looking at him when they shook hands, but was quick to stress that there was no bad blood between them.

“I thought if we shake hands, you look into each other’s eyes, he disagrees,” said Tuchel Sky Sports.

“It’s emotional, football. We don’t need to heat it up. They have emotional coaches on the sidelines and that’s it.”

“When we meet, we meet. If not, then not. Come on guys, it’s between two competitors and nothing bad happened.”

Tuchel then added BBC Sport: “There are no hard feelings [with Conte] – I feel like it was a fair tackle from him and a fair tackle from me.

“We didn’t take offense, we didn’t fight, we fought for our teams and there are absolutely no hard feelings from my side.

“I’m surprised we both got a red card for that.”

Conte himself wanted to dismiss the incident and did not respond to Tuchel’s comments on reporters’ handshakes.

“In my opinion it’s better to talk about the game,” said Conte Sky Sports after the game.

“I don’t want to comment because I think that’s not the most important thing and if there’s a problem it’s between me and him and not the others.”

Despite those comments, Conte subsequently posted to his Instagram Stories a video of Tuchel celebrating Chelsea’s second goal and a caption that read, “Luckily I didn’t see you… It would have been well deserved to make you trip…”

Conte vs. Tuchel: history and head-to-head record

These two managers had never faced each other before 2022 but have now played each other four times in eight months.

Tuchel has dominated their games, winning the first three encounters before the dramatic 2-2 draw.

Before this game, Conte’s teams hadn’t scored a single goal against Tuchel’s teams.

Tottenham’s draw therefore meant quite a bit for Conte, who is hoping to finally beat Tuchel the next time their teams meet.

Spurs are due to host Chelsea next in the Premier League on February 25, 2023 but could feature in cup competitions before then.

date Game/Result contest
August 14, 2022 Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham First League
January 23, 2022 Chelsea Tottenham 2-0 First League
January 12, 2022 Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea Carabao Cup
January 5, 2022 Chelsea Tottenham 2-0 Carabao Cup

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