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After a much better European performance than they produced last week, Tottenham Hotspur claimed a comfortable 1-3 victory over Ludogorets in Bulgaria this evening. Tottenham appeared to be far more focused from the off than they’d been in last week’s loss to Antwerp, and it didn’t take long for them to find a breakthrough.
Harry Kane headed home from a corner after 13 minutes to open the scoring for Tottenham, and then combined with Gareth Bale to give Lucas Moura an easy finish to double the lead.
Ludogorets did pull a very fortunate goal back early in the second half, but Tottenham then regained their two-goal lead on 62 minutes. Son Heung-min – who had only been introduced seconds beforehand – crossed for Giovani Lo Celso to prod home from close range.
Tottenham could’ve had more goals with some better finishing, but Jose Mourinho will be happy with the win.
With that in mind, here are five talking points from Tottenham’s win over Ludogorets.
#1 Kane scored his 200th Tottenham goal in textbook fashion
Early on in this evening’s game, it felt like it was going to be one of those awkward nights for Harry Kane. Chasing his 200th goal for Tottenham, the England captain could’ve scored inside the first minute. A wonderful chipped pass from Harry Winks put him clean through on goal, but somehow, Kane managed to sky the chance.
Moments later, his right-footed shot from range struck the post – making fans wonder if he would have to wait until the weekend’s game against West Brom to reach the milestone.
However, they need not have worried. On 13 minutes, Kane rose above Ludogorets’ defense to head home, claiming his 200th goal in Tottenham colors in just his 300th appearance.
Kane is on a simply ludicrous run of form this season. This evening’s goal was his 12th of the current campaign in just 13 appearances. Add in his contribution of 10 assists, and there might be an argument for the England captain being the best player in Europe right now.
Simply put, when Kane is on the pitch, Tottenham have a chance against any side. And weaker opponents like Ludogorets don’t stand much of a chance at all.
#2 Tottenham were far sharper this week than against Antwerp
In a fascinating interview at the weekend, Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks revealed that boss Jose Mourinho hadn’t even spoken to his players about their disappointing loss to Royal Antwerp last week. The idea that Mourinho hadn’t even brought up such a poor performance raised some eyebrows, but things were explained earlier this evening.
Apparently, Mourinho addressed the elephant in the room – that terrible performance – prior to this evening’s game, and evidently, his plan worked. To a man, Tottenham looked fired up for the game against Ludogorets, and even though the Bulgarians were far weaker than Antwerp, it was still impressive to see.
Sure, the likes of Winks, Giovani Lo Celso, and Lucas Moura didn’t always see their attempts at killer passes go to plan, but at least the effort was there. And when they did lose the ball, all of Mourinho’s men were more than willing to chase back and win possession.
It wasn’t a perfect performance this evening, but the comfortable victory should be enough to erase the memories of that Antwerp loss. If nothing else, it gives Tottenham a great platform to head into this weekend’s clash with West Brom.
#3 Bale is getting sharper all the time
Gareth Bale scored his first goal since returning to Tottenham from Real Madrid in last weekend’s victory over Brighton & Hove Albion. And despite the Welshman and his boss Jose Mourinho constantly stating that he needs to build his fitness, it looks like the goal has dramatically raised his confidence.
Bale was fantastic in this evening’s game. Not only did he register a pass success rate of 97% - the highest of any Tottenham player – but he was a constant menace to the Ludogorets defense every time he went forward.
It was his intelligent control, turn, and pass to Harry Kane that helped to set up Lucas Moura’s goal, and he was even willing to chase back and defend at times, too.
The Welshman still isn’t quite back to his best yet, and Mourinho clearly doesn’t want to risk him in a full game, as he was given 65 minutes tonight. But it’s clear that Bale is getting sharper all the time, and when he is back to full fitness, he’s likely to terrorize opposition defenses.
#4 Vinicius is desperate for his first Tottenham goal
One player who didn’t have the best game this evening was Carlos Vinicius. Hooked off at half-time in last week’s loss against Antwerp, the Brazilian was left out of the Tottenham squad altogether for the weekend’s victory over Brighton.
Vinicius was restored to the bench for the game against Ludogorets and was introduced at half-time, replacing Harry Kane. However, the striker failed to make an impact anywhere close to that of the England captain.
Not only did he fail to press as heavily as his teammates when he first entered the fray, but he also made a number of passing errors and missed a couple of chances, too.
Essentially, despite his impressive debut two weeks ago against LASK, it seems that Vinicius is just lacking in confidence. And what he needs to change that around is likely to be his first Tottenham goal.
As he’s only just been signed, it’s doubtful that Jose Mourinho has lost faith in him completely yet, so hopefully, he manages to find the back of the net soon. If he can find that first goal, then it’s likely he’ll go from strength to strength.
#5 Were Mourinho’s substitutions a message to Dele?
In a way, this evening’s win felt like a way for the Tottenham players who’d disappointed against Antwerp to prove their worth to boss Jose Mourinho. Of the four players who were hooked at half-time last week, Giovani Lo Celso started this evening’s game and scored.
Steven Bergwijn worked remarkably hard when he was brought on. And while Carlos Vinicius struggled, it wasn’t for lack of effort.
However, when it felt like it was time for Dele Alli to be introduced, Mourinho threw a curveball. Lo Celso was withdrawn on 72 minutes, but rather than send the England man on in his place, Tottenham's record signing Tanguy Ndombele instead emerged.
It was hard not to see the Frenchman’s introduction as a message to Dele, in a number of different ways. The easy conclusion to make would be that Mourinho has simply lost all faith in the 24-year old – and that his time at Tottenham is likely coming to an end. After all, he wouldn’t be the first player frozen out by the Portuguese boss following a slump in form.
But there’s another way of looking at it. Last season, it was Ndombele who felt Mourinho’s wrath and found himself largely frozen out. The Frenchman was verbally shredded by his boss following Tottenham’s March draw with Burnley, and it looked like his time at the club was done.
And yet Ndombele has turned things around this season and is now not only back in Mourinho’s plans but has become one of his key players. Perhaps the message to Dele tonight was that if he reacts to this kind of slight in the correct way, he could easily follow in the Frenchman’s footsteps.
In one of this season’s ongoing sagas, only time will tell what the truth of the matter is.
