In gameweek two of the Premier League, Chelsea and Spurs managers Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte almost came to blows more than once on a thrilling football night between their respective teams..
Following an emphatic showdown at Stamford Bridge, the London rivals finished the game with a 2-2 draw. However, the managers both saw red during the course of the game. They initially engaged in an altercation after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg scored to make the score 1-1.
After Harry Kane scored a 96th minute equalizer to finish the game at 2-2, the mangers, once again, engaged in an altercation. While going to shake each other's hands, Conte avoided eye contact but Tuchel clinched on with a tight grip.
Following the viral moment, 5-0 boxer Jake Paul took to Twitter to propose his thoughts on a potential clash inside the ring between the two Premier League managers. The YouTube star tweeted:
"Fear is clear when you don’t look at your opponent in their eyes. Tuchel would KO Conte and I would pay money to see it."
Antonio Conte was, of course, the manager of Chelsea from 2016 to 2018. During this time, he won the FA Cup and the Premier League title with The Blues.
With Spurs looking to win silverware for the first time since 2008, their hearty showing against Chelsea was a statement.
View Paul's tweet about Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte here:
Antonio Conte's response to the incident against Thomas Tuchel
Shortly after the night of the game, Antonio Conte took to his Instagram and added fuel to the fire. The Spurs coach posted an image of Tuchel celebrating along the touchline and applied a a caption to the image.
The caption read:
"Lucky I didn't see you... making you trip over would have been well deserved..."
Tuchel also commented on the situation, where he brushed over the aggressive engagement by suggesting that it was due to the emotion of the game.
Overall, it's very unlikely that the two managers will ever get inside the ring to settle the score, but this has certainly set up an exciting rivalry for the Premier League.
View a screenshot of Conte's Instagram story on the incident via Fabrizio Romano here: