Carlos Vinicius starred on his debut for Tottenham Hotspur as Spurs won their opening Europa League Group Stage match 3-0 against LASK.
Spurs Debutants Impress in Win Against LASK
Carlos Vinicius Assists Two Goals on Debut
In the lead up to Thursday nights game, Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho had made a point of dismissing Tottenham’s spectacular capitulation against West Ham United over the weekend from memory.
He said: “No stories about ‘Spursy’ and this kind of thing. We just need to defend better from set-pieces.”
His side’s performance against LASK would have backed up his argument.
Quick, one-touch passing was the order of the day, as Spurs lined up in a 4-2-3-1. Gareth Bale and Carlos Vinicius both made their full debuts for Tottenham.
The latter missed a glaring opportunity early on. Matt Doherty’s cross was begging to be finished, but Vinicius couldn’t find the target.
Spurs fans may have been having flashbacks to Vincent Janssen’s ill-fated time at the club. Surely they hadn’t signed another dud back-up to Harry Kane?
On this first showing in Spurs colours, Vinicius certainly showed his potential. While his finishing wasn’t quite up to scratch, his link-up play was superb.
This was shown in the opening goal of the game. Ben Davies – deployed as a left-sided centre-back in the back four – played the ball into Vinicius. The Brazilian took a touch, before finding his compatriot Lucas Moura with a superb ball. Moura made no mistake.
Spurs were well in control and doubled their lead shortly after. This time it was Gareth Bale, on his second full debut for the club, who was the architect. His cross was set to be finished by Vinicius (who would have been offside), only for LASK defender Andres Andrade to divert the ball into his own net.
Things could have gone down the typical “Spursy” route just before half-time. Joe Hart, who has quickly established himself as the cup competition keeper, was alert to make a good save from Andreas Gruber.
Dele Alli Fails to Make Impact in Substitute Appearance
The second half was measured and controlled from Spurs. This aspect of the performance would arguably be more satisfying for Spurs fans than the football played in the first half.
Mourinho was able to make a triple substitution on the hour-mark with his side in the ascendancy. Dele Alli replaced Erik Lamela, in what was a chance for the England international to stake his claim for a regular place in the side.
Too often did the final ball go astray, or his finishing let him down. He was clean through from Vinicius’ pass, but his attempt lacked cohesion and was eventually hacked away off the line.
Carlos Vinicius, however, continued to impress with his awareness – as he set up the third Tottenham goal. A deft header from the Brazilian found substitute Son Heung-Min. The South Korean, who is now scoring goals with frightening ease, finished coolly into the corner.
Tottenham saw the game out with minimal fuss. After the game, Mourinho hinted that there was more to come from Vinicius: “Carlos is more than this – he is still trying to understand the movements, trying to understand the way we press.”
“He can score goals, but at the same time if he doesn’t score he knows how to play football, so I’m very happy.”
“He can play with Harry [Kane] and not just be the guy to cover him. I am very happy and the feelings over everyone in the squad are good towards him.”
Gareth Bale ‘Loving’ Life at Spurs
Bale’s second full debut for the club lasted 60 minutes – but he showed flashes of the quality which Spurs fans had become accustomed to during his first spell in North London.
His cross forced the second goal for Tottenham – and the Welshman is confident he’ll be back to fitness soon: “I think it’s one of those periods. I have to use it as a mini pre-season to get myself up and running -I fully expect it’s going to take a few weeks and more minutes to get me going.”
“I know how good the squad is, the team is, the manager is and how great the club is. It was a perfect fit for me to come back and I’m enjoying myself – I’m loving it here.”
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