Tottenham 2-3 Southampton: Angry Antonio Conte explains what led to Spurs’ dramatic collapse in EPL encounter

• Conte watched his team concede two late goals against Southampton in a thrilling Premier League encounter on Wednesday, February 9
• The gaffer now says mental instability inside his team led to the dramatic collapse late in the game
• He praised his side for their attitude but was still critical of the manner in which Tottenham kept giving away possession

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte said his side’s ‘mental instability’ was the main reason they succumbed to defeat against a determined Southampton on Wednesday.

As reported by Sports Brief, Spurs surrendered a lead twice at home as Southampton claimed 3-2 win in a thriller.

The North London club initially went ahead through a Jan Bednarek own goal but Armando Broja's strike levelled matters.

Heung Min Son then gave his side the lead once again but there was more drama to come late in the game.

The Saints managed to score twice in two minutes to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 win as Mohamed Elyounoussi and Che Adams headed home from crosses from James Ward-Prowse.

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What Conte said

The defeat will certainly be a painful one for Conte’s side, who knew even a draw would have been enough to take them above sixth placed Arsenal.

"For sure, we have to be disappointed," the gaffer said as quoted by Sky Sports.

"They were good but I think we made many, many mistakes, especially with the ball, and I think this type of situation creates a bit of mental instability in my team.

"In the second half, then, we started to play, we started to press in the right way and then we created chances to score.”

Conte also added that while his team was improving tremendously, they were still “too emotional”.

"We have to try to avoid defeats like this. I think today we could have avoided this defeat. Especially when you go 2-1 and there are 15 minutes or 20 minutes to play, we have to try to manage the situation in a better way. We have to take experience from this game and try to improve. Conte added.

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The defeat leaves Tottenham in seventh place on the log, although they have a number of games in hand.

Man City go 12 points clear

In the other game, Manchester City were routine 2-0 winners over Brentford as Pep Guardiola extended his side’s lead at the top to 12 points.

Goals from Riyad Mahrez and Kevin de Bruyne were enough to see off Thomas Frank’s side as City continue to run away from their title rivals.

Liverpool will have the chance to close the gap when they take on Leicester City at Anfield on Thursday, February 10.