‘Before I answer’ - Antonio Conte aims jibe at Jurgen Klopp after Liverpool’s win vs Tottenham

Antonio Conte felt that it was ‘unfair’ Tottenham Hotspur suffered defeat to Liverpool.

The Reds picked up their first away win in the Premier League this season with a 2-1 victory in north London on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp’s side took a two-goal advantage into half-time courtesy of a Mo Salah double.

Spurs responded well in the second period and put the pressure on Liverpool. They reduced the arrears through Harry Kane in the 70th minute but Liverpool defended stoically to claim all three points.

Klopp had been unhappy with the tactics Conte deployed when the Reds were held to a 1-1 draw by Tottenham last season. And at the start of his post-match press following Spurs’ loss, the Italian sarcastically asked reporters: “Before I answer the [first] question, Jurgen was happy with the way that we played tonight?

“Yeah? It was important to know his opinion. Jurgen is a really good coach but at the end tonight we are talking about a defeat and maybe the game that we played at Anfield, the final result was 1-1 was better.”

On the game, Conte - who was booked for knocking the ball out of Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders’ hands - said: “It is difficult to explain the defeat tonight, we deserved much more but also after the first half in the dressing room I was happy with the desire and what we did.

“We put a lot of pressure on Liverpool and were 2-0 down but we didn’t know why. In the second half, we played really well. Their goalkeeper made good saves and we hit the post and the crossbar. I think the result is unfair.

“It is difficult to explain this type of game. For sure the performance was good. We are managing a situation with many, many injuries and we need to find new solutions.

“This type of performance against a team like Liverpool gives me satisfaction as it shows the hard work works.”