Richarlison criticizes Conte: “You can’t play like this”

Forward for Tottenham Hotspur richarlison has criticized manager Antonio Conte for his lack of regular playing time following their knockout from the Champions League.

Richarlison started with wins against West Ham United and Chelsea, but fell on the bench for the third straight game in Wednesday’s goalless draw against AC Milan that saw them go 1-0 on aggregate.

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“I’m a professional, I work every day and I want to play. I’m short of minutes, short of time”, Richarlison, who came on as a substitute on 70′. said after the game. “Apologies for the word, but this season is s — because I don’t have minutes, I also suffered a bit of injury.”

Since joining Tottenham in a £60m transfer from Everton last summer, Richarlison has scored just two goals in 25 appearances. He competed in the World Cup in Qatar with Brazil, but this season he has struggled with calf and hamstring injuries.

He said his form had improved and he is puzzled by Conte’s team selection, adding: “I was on a good run, with two wins against West Ham and Chelsea, and suddenly he (Conte) put me on the bench. Against Wolves, put on five minutes, I asked why and they didn’t tell me anything.

“(Tuesday) they asked me to do a test in the gym. He (Conte) told me that, if I was fine, he would go to the game. When it was time for the game, he put me on the bench. These are things you can’t understand.

“When I go on the pitch, I give my life. I come from two good games, mainly against Chelsea, where I played the full 90 minutes and we won the game. I guess I should have played (from the start against Milan).”

Needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg in Italy to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals, Spurs had just two shots on goal on Wednesday and failed to score for the third game in a row.

Conte, whose contract with Spurs expires this summer, said after the game that he could be sacked before the end of the season.

Richarlison pointed to Conte’s tactic for Tottenham’s problems facing goal.

“We are out of the biggest club competition, you can’t play like that when you need to score a goal,” he said. “I think it should have put (pushed) the team forward, especially in the second half.”

Despite his criticism of Conte, Richarlison said he can still make a positive impact this season.

“The club paid dearly for me and until now I have not responded on the field,” he said. “Of course, the injuries hindered me a bit… Let’s see if he (Conte) starts me for the next game.

“I will concentrate on our next (Premier League) games and I will score as many goals as possible.”

Spurs, who were knocked out of the FA Cup in the fifth round with a 1-0 loss to Sheffield United on March 1, are fourth in the Premier League heading into Saturday’s game against Nottingham Forest.