Tottenham’s Conte era gets off to winning start

AFP

Antonio Conte was dished up the good and the bad in his first match in charge of Tottenham who beat Vitesse Arnhem 3-2 in the Europa Conference League on Thursday in a game which also three red cards.

Conte took his place in the dug out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after his work permit arrived in time two days after his appointment.

Spurs had not mustered a single shot on target in the weekend defeat to Manchester United, which spelled the end for Nuno Espirito Santo after just four months in charge.

Against Vitesse they’d conjured up two within the first 90 seconds, encouraging the fans, some draped in Italian flags to make Conte feel at home.

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The Italian former Inter Milan, Chelsea and Juventus boss only had to wait 14 minutes for his new side’s first goal, with Son Heung-min driving in a low angled shot from the right.

Shortly after Lucas Moura, taking receipt of an inch-perfect cross from Harry Kane, clinically converted the chance, sliding the ball past the onrushing keeper Markus Schubert.

The reenergized hosts were 3-0 up before the half hour, the goal awarded to Vitesse defender Jacob Rasmussen who in trying to keep out Kane’s close range shot dragged the ball over the line.

Rasmussen made quick amends, heading past Hugo Lloris four minutes later.

On 39 minutes a defensive error by Moura resulted in Matus Bero slotting past Lloris to give Conte plenty to talk about at his first half-time prep talk in the Spurs dressing room.

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On the hour Tottenham went a man down after defender Cristian Romero received his second booking for a foul on Lois Openda.

Lloris was then kept busy as Vitesse tried to capitalise on their numerical advantage, the Spurs skipper superbly denying Riechedly Bazoer’s curling shot with his left hand.

Conte made a triple substitution, introducing Harry Winks, Davinson Sanchez and Tanguy Ndomblee for Son, Moura and Oliver Skipp.

Vitesse had a man sent off of their own when captain Danilho Doekhi felled Kane in the centre circle to earn his second booking, as Tottenham held on for a much needed win.

Vitesse keeper Markus Schubert was also sent off for handling the ball outside of his area.

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While Conte was left with plenty of food for thought in north London ahead of his Premier League return against Everton, former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho watched his Roma side earn a come-from-behind 2-2 draw against Bodo/Glimt.

The Norwegians had embarrassed Mourinho’s Serie A charges 6-1 at home in the first match between the two sides last month.

International

Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco

The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.

Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.

“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.

Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.

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The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.

As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.

International

Cristina Kirchner recovering after appendicitis surgery in Buenos Aires

Former Argentine President Cristina Kirchner underwent surgery on Saturday after being diagnosed with appendicitis and is recovering “without complications,” according to a medical report released by the Otamendi Sanatorium.

Kirchner was admitted to the Buenos Aires medical center on Saturday after experiencing abdominal pain. Doctors performed a laparoscopic procedure that confirmed a diagnosis of “appendicitis with localized peritonitis,” the statement said, adding that her post-operative recovery has been progressing without complications.

The former president was transferred to the clinic with judicial authorization from her apartment in Buenos Aires, where she is serving a six-year sentence under house arrest for corruption.

International

Argentina detects first local cases of Influenza A (H3N2) Subclade K

Argentina’s National Administration of Laboratories and Health Institutes (ANLIS) “Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán” has confirmed the detection of three cases of influenza A (H3N2) corresponding to subclade K in the country. These are the first locally recorded cases of this variant, which has become predominant in several countries in the Northern Hemisphere in recent months and is associated with higher transmissibility.

The cases were identified through the National Network of Laboratories and Sentinel Units and confirmed by the National Reference Laboratory of INEI-ANLIS using genomic sequencing techniques. According to health authorities, the cases involve two adolescents from the province of Santa Cruz, detected as part of the Ambulatory Monitoring Strategy for Acute Respiratory Infections, and a child who had been hospitalized in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

In all three cases, patients experienced mild illness and recovered without complications. Officials did not specify whether any of the affected individuals had a recent travel history.

The jurisdictions involved have already launched the corresponding epidemiological investigations and are responsible for ensuring timely medical care for the detected cases. According to the latest integrated surveillance report, the circulation of influenza and other respiratory viruses in Argentina remains within expected levels for this time of year.