3 big lessons Antonio Conte learned about Tottenham in his first match

2. Kane and Son are still sensational

A big part of Nuno Espirito Santo’s failure at Tottenham can be traced back to his inability to get the best out of his attacking players. Neither Harry Kane nor Son Heung-Min enjoyed their time playing under the defensive-minded gaffer.

That caused some doubt to creep into the collective minds of Spurs fans about the viability of that star-studded duo moving forward. The first 30 minutes of Tottenham football under Conte emphatically silenced any doubt about Kane and Son’s ability to produce goals moving forward.

It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it was good enough to power Spurs to what appeared to be a commanding 3-0 lead in the match’s first half hour. Son was eventually substituted off the pitch for defensive purposes after Cristian Romero’s red card, but his lively running gave Vitesse lots of problems.

Kane’s full 90-minute performance should be even more encouraging for Tottenham fans. He may not have found the back of the net but his work rate in the second half was exceptional. Time and time again, Kane put his body on the line to hold the ball up to help Spurs retain possession even when they were down a man.

The takeaway for Conte here is that his starting attack duo is set. Investment is needed to find quality backups up front for Spurs, but that is an issue for another day.