Antonio Conte wins absorbing touchline tussle

The view from the Bridge, the Stamford Bridge press box, is the worst in the Premier League, especially if you are unlucky enough to be stuck at the back, where the low overhanging concrete beams give the impression of a Second World War bunker. It makes anything above head height on the pitch almost impossible to see. 

In the old days of teams like George Graham’s Arsenal, who liked to hoist the ball long and high, you would struggle to see much of the ball for most of the game.

But it does give a superb view of the two dugouts, and an unrivalled opportunity to see at close quarters how the men under most pressure in the modern game conduct themselves.

So with Chelsea against Manchester City, what better sideshow can there be than observing the touchline antics of Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola? The two men are similar in so many ways, but polar opposites at times.

Both arrived in England last summer with reputations of the highest order and expectations to match. Barely six months separates them in age, they both had playing careers at the highest level, and have taken the same standards of excellence into management.

Both are skilled in the art of mind games, with Guardiola doing his best to pile pressure on Conte ahead of this fixture by suggesting the Italian is now the best in the business, and perhaps he can teach Pep a thing or two. One of those lessons could be in media management, with Guardiola prone to outbursts of spikiness, earning him a reputation as a tad paranoid.

Conte, by contrast, is almost schizophrenic in his change from Jekyll to Hyde once the whistle blows. The quiet and urbane Italian, appears to develop ‘touchline Tourettes’ when he is in the technical area.

And so it was last night. All hugs and smiles before kick-off, both in the tunnel and on the touchline, Conte and Guardiola were the best of enemies during 90 pulsating minutes. Both immaculately dressed in dark designer suits, Conte was waving his arms and shouting himself hoarse from the start, while Guardiola stood with hands in pockets, almost nonchalant.

It was a different story once Eden Hazard fired Chelsea into an early lead. Conte celebrated briefly before calmly returning to his place, while Guardiola looked despondent, squatting in front of his assistants with his back to the play, wondering what to do. He was soon fired up when Sergio Aguero appeared to be tripped as he ran in on goal, and the coach showed traces of the speed of old as he raced down towards the linesman. Fourth official Bobby Madley was across quickly to intervene but Pep would not be calmed, for a few minutes at least as he protested at the injustice. When Aguero equalised shortly afterwards, Guardiola allowed himself a little fist pump before returning to berate and debate with Madley whether his striker was vindicated.

The touchline drama did not stop there. While Guardiola divided his time between watching his players and turning to his coaching staff, Conte was in a world of his own, kicking every ball, putting each of his players in position shouting what must have been barely audible instructions in the highly charged atmosphere.

When Hazard scored again, Guardiola looked in despair to his assistants, scratching his head as if wondering what he needed to do. He tried changing tack, switching Kevin de Bruyne and Leroy Sane to opposite flanks with good effect. Conte made a similar move with Pedro and Hazard, and the chances came and went for both sides.

As the game moved into stoppage time, with City on top and pushing hard for an equaliser, Conte took advantage of a break in play to get the crowd going, urging them to sing the way he urges his players on throughout the 90 minutes. As the final seconds ticked away, he walked anxiously to check the time with the officials, and the final whistle went, gave a relieved fist pump of his own, before turning to Guardiola for a cursory and good-natured hug, before joining his players in celebration of the victory that will probably mean they will go on to lift the title, hugging them as they left the pitch.

Guardiola, too, walked out on to the turf to console his players, who now have little chance of winning the league.

It was exhausting to watch, enthralling, entertaining, and absolutely absorbing. And who knows? Guardiola may just be right about Conte being the best manager in the world.