Tottenham Hotspur star Richarlison has told TNT Sports – as translated by ESPN – that he cannot understand why Antonio Conte benched him after wins over West Ham and Chelsea and even asked Conte why to be told nothing.
Richarlison, 25, started in wins over West Ham and Chelsea but was then left on the bench in the 1-0 defeat to Wolves. On Wednesday night, the Brazil star was left on the bench again – only coming on with 20 minutes left to play.
Spurs crashed out of the Champions League after a 0-0 draw in North London. It comes after Spurs suffered a 1-0 loss in the first leg. Fans were heavily critical of a Spurs side that lacked any kind of attacking spark, with Conte blamed.
Plenty of criticism has come in for his tactics, and his decision to bring on a defender for Deki Kulusevski when chasing the game – after Cristian Romero’s second yellow. Richarlison took aim at Conte when speaking to Brazilian media.
“That’s what I don’t understand (being a sub). It was going well. Two wins against West Ham and Chelsea. Suddenly, he put me on the bench against the Wolves. He put me on for five minutes. I asked why but they didn’t tell me anything.
“Yesterday, they asked me to take a test at the gym, that if I was good I would go to the game and, at the time of the game, they left me on the bench. These are things that it is not possible to understand,” Richarlison told TNT Sports.
“Let’s see what he will say tomorrow, but there are no fools here either, I’m a professional, I work every day and I want to play. When I enter the field, I give my life. I came from two games well,” Richarlison added. “I should have played.”
TOTTENHAM STAR RICHARDSON CAN NOT UNDERSTAND WHY CONTE BENCHED HIM
It is a good question, from Richarlison. Obviously, a shock to hear a player speaking so openly in the media about his own boss. But, with Son Heung-min looking utterly nervous and devoid of confidence – why was Richarlison benched?
Especially, given he put in two decent displays in 2-0 wins over West Ham and Chelsea. Why did it need to be changed if the Spurs were winning? The proof is in the pudding. Richarlison started in the wins and benched against Wolves and Milan.
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