Solid Start in Europe

THU 22 OCT 2020

EUROPA LEAGUE – GROUP J
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: 3 (MOURA, ANDRADE (OG), SON)
LASK: 0

The debutant striker Carlos Vinicius shines as we defeated Lask 3-0 in our opening group stage fixture of the Europa League campaign 20/21. The Austrian side rarely troubled us apart from some long balls in our area and that one particular moment before half time in which Joe Hart produced an outstanding save.

Stats
 Spurs have won 11 of their last 12 home Europa League group stage matches.
 After losing just one of their first eight Europa League matches (W5 D2), LASK have lost each of their last three in a row.
 Spurs have scored 31 goals in all competitions this season, five more than any other Premier League side.
 Mourinho has won 12 of his 15 home matches in the Uefa Cup/Europa League (D2 L1), across spells with Benfica, FC Porto, Manchester United and Spurs.
 Lucas has scored in each of his last three starts in all competitions, his best streak for the club.
 Only Kane (18) has been directly involved in more goals in all competitions among Premier League players than Son (13 – nine goals, four assists) this season.
 Austrian teams remain winless in 18 away European matches in England, drawing one and losing 17.

We had a decent game as it was a team performance in overall and here are some of the talking points from that win against LASK.

Finally a Clean Sheet
We kept our first clean sheet of the season and it finally came in 10th match of the season, having played against teams from across England, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Israel. LASK didn’t troubled us much but it was a needed clean sheet to boost up the team confidence. Like Jose said we have no problem with open play but we concede more from set pieces.

Jose is known for defensive masterclass but with Tottenham it has been opposite as his team has been more threat while going forward and are sloppy when it comes to defending. May this clean sheet be that changing point for us this season regarding our frequent defensive problems.

The Long Awaited Man has Arrived
We waited for fourteen long months to land the striker and it had to be Carlos Vinicius. On loan from Benfica the young Brazilian was handed a full debut by Jose Mourinho and the striker had an debut to remember as he bagged two assists.

With his performance yesterday he proved that he is not only a striker to score goals but also a complete team player who can play in and out to serve his teammate’s. We saw that he is 6ft 3 inch tall and that can be advantage to us as he will be a proper threat in air balls and has physique matching with his height as result to that he will be able to hold the ball and hustle past his marker.

Jose Mourinho was clearly impressed with his new man and was not hesitant to praise the Brazilian after the game.

“He played well but can do better,” said the Portuguese boss. “Considering the circumstances and that it was his first match, I’m really happy. The only thing that was missing was one goal, but he’s much more than that.
“He’s not selfish and is a good target man. He can play with Kane when his good period arrives and won’t just be the guy to cover him. I am very happy.”

These words from Mourinho are loud and clear that he doesn’t think Vinicius as only backup to Kane but in coming days we can see him partnering up front with kane. In his debut he played in place of Kane and he played like Kane.

Captain`s Performance
Ben Davies was with captains armband for the day and he marked his 50th appearance in Europe with a captains performance. Sunday Reguilon started against Westham and it was easy for everyone to predict Davies for left back spot but Jose had other plan as he slotted Davies with Sanchez in centre back role.
It was not new for him as he is used to play in that role for his country and was comfortable again as he displayed a solid performance. Playing in left back role Davies is more defensive minded rather than attacking minded and that helps him to adapt in centre back role easily.
The performance against LASK has opened new door for both Davies and Jose as they can use that versatility to strengthen the team performance in coming days.

Captain without Armband
Ben Davies displayed an impressive performance with captains band in his arm on the day but there was another captain without armband on the pitch for Tottenham. Not only in this game but in every game he is a captain without armband for Tottenham.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg was everywhere on the pitch, he was there in the middle breaking every attack coming his way, he was there in between two centre backs providing the defensive cover and he was also in opposition area pressing high to unsettle the opposition. He was doing it all with a cut above his eye and he proved hat he is a warrior and he never gives up. This is why we bought him, we had players but not leader, he has that commanding ability as he always leads from the front.
Jose rates him high due to his leadership capabilities and as the result he was Jose`s first signing this summer. After the game Jose told about some sarcasm thrown at Dane at half time regarding his stitched head ;
we were having some laughs at half-time because we were calling him ‘Zidane’ and saying ‘Ok Pierre, take it easy. You tried it once (the double pirouette), don’t try to do it again because that’s not you’.

That Bench
Our starting XI against LASK was one of the strong squad if we compare it with some other squad across the globe but reality was different, that was not our strongest squad as most of the regular first team players were given rest.

If we take a look at that bench we had against LASK then we find it ridiculous as it contain the players like; Harry Kane, Dele, Son Heung Min, Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, Lloris, Aurier, Toby, Sissoko and two youngsters. We had another whole squad on the bench and it shows that how much our squad depth is and how strong it is.
This was the first time a fully fit Harry Kane had not needed to play a minute from the bench in a competitive Spurs match since the north London club beat Rochdale 6-1 in the FA Cup on February 28, 2018, with Fernando Llorente scoring a hat-trick in the snow.

Time has changed and it has changed our Tottenham a lot in positive way, now we can say the future is bright, the future is Lillywhites.

What`s Next?
We face Burnley next in the Premier League, till then Coys!!!

We Nepal Spurs family like to
Wish you all a joy & happiness during this Festive Season
Happy Dashain to all. Stay safe take care. #COYS