Antonio Conte delivers verdict on Tottenham v Chelsea FA Cup semi-final draw
By Danny Wright
Antonio Conte believes that Tottenham were the team he wanted Chelsea to avoid in the FA Cup semi-final draw.
Chelsea booked their place in the last four of the competition with a 1-0 win over Manchester United on Monday.
Tottenham eased past Millwall with a 6-0 win on Sunday to earn a place in the last four alongside Manchester City and Arsenal.
Spurs face a potential north London derby in the final if both sides were to win their respective matches.
Conte has admitted that he would have preferred matches against the Gunners or City though as he singled out Mauricio Pochettino’s side as the toughest team in the draw.
“I thought this before [the game],” said Conte, when he was asked if Tottenham were the hardest possible draw, as quoted by the Metro.
“[This season] there’s one win for us, one win for them.
“They showed they are able to beat us because it happened in the second leg [at White Hart Lane] but we’ve shown we can beat them.
“Now we will see what the result is in the semi-final but for sure it will be an interesting game.”
The two sides have played each other twice this season with both teams winning their home matches.
At Stamford Bridge, Conte’s side were 2-1 victors thanks to goals from Pedro and Victor Moses, while two Dele Alli goals were enough for Spurs to enjoy a 2-0 win in January.
Chelsea and Spurs are currently the top two teams in the Premier League with the Blues holding a 10-point lead at the summit.
Tottenham have won seven FA Cups in their history, which is one more than the league leaders.
However Chelsea can boast winning the competition more recently when they last lifted it in 2012. The last time Spurs managed it was back in 1991.
In other Tottenham news, fans have also reacted to Monday night’s semi-final draw.
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