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José Mourinho described Dele Alli as a “team player” after the playmaker’s out-of-favor performance helped Tottenham to the brink of qualification for the Europa League knockout stage thanks to a 4-0 win over the Ludogorets.
There he shone for a Spurs team that repeated the dominance they displayed in a 3-1 win in Bulgaria three weeks ago to get closer to the final 32 of the competition.
Carlos Vinicius translated his team’s superiority into two goals before the break, the first for the club.
The Brazilian, on loan from Benfica for a season, got his second thanks to Alli’s disinterested pass when he could have easily shot himself.
It was Alli’s first appearance with the Spurs since he was withdrawn at halftime in a 1-0 loss to Royal Antwerp on October 26.
Mourinho said: “I could try to score, but for Vinicius it was an easy goal.
A team player does that, risk-free and 2-0.
I’m not surprised he did that.
“Dele was like the team.
A very good first half.
In the second half in the first 20 to 25 minutes they closed and tried not to concede more goals.
“We became a little more passive and never felt the threat of a possible goal.
We let it go down a bit.
“The Premier League leaders, tied nine points at the top of Group J but second behind Antwerp due to a lower head-to-head record, can seal the standings with an away draw against LASK Austria next Thursday .
Harry Winks added a third from 50 yards, though he later admitted that he was trying to pass Gareth Bale instead of shooting, when he caught Ludogorets goalkeeper Plamen Iliev midway through the second half.
Vinicius then became a supplier to his compatriot Lucas Moura to close out a beautiful victory.
Only Tanguy Ndombele retained his starting job since Saturday’s win over Manchester City, and Mourinho opted to put key players to rest before Sunday’s Premier League meeting with third-placed Chelsea.
It was a fifth win in a row for Spurs, whose stunning loss to their opponents Antwerp in the final group match is their only loss in 16 matches in all competitions.
Alli determined to prove the point Alli and Vinicius were two of four players substituted after 45 minutes in the loss to Antwerp, but both impressed this time around, albeit against limited opposition.
Before Thursday’s game, Alli had been replaced twice at halftime in his three starts this season, but the 24-year-old showed glimpses of his old self in an instrumental display.
It was a pass from Alli, destined for Bale, who swerved in Vinicius’s path for the Spurs’ advance in the 16th minute.
The England playmaker then pushed the ball into Vinicius’s path for the Brazilian forward’s second after Ndombele’s stop shot followed.
The former MK Dons player continued to work hard until his replacement in the 81st minute, struggling to regain possession and finding spirited Vinicius to set up Moura’s room.
It was a step in the right direction for Alli, who, after being linked to a Spurs move over the summer, has cut back on a peripheral figure this season.
But with 10 games in 32 days for the Spurs before the end of the year, this performance may persuade Mourinho that he can rely on Alli for the challenges ahead.
Spurs keep up the momentum Mourinho spoke of Tottenham’s “evolution” after his declaration of victory against Pep Guardiola’s City, but insisted his team is not fighting to win the Premier League despite being at the top of the table this season in the top flight for the first time. since 1985.
As much as he tries to quell rumors of a title challenge, the fact that Tottenham are in pole position with almost a quarter of such an unpredictable campaign cannot be ignored.
The simple victory against Ludogorets was the latest suggestion, a year after Mauricio Pochettino was fired, that the team in the form of Mourinho is in contention to end a 12-year trophy drought.
If success doesn’t come domestically, the depth of the roster demonstrated by Thursday’s 10 changes suggests that the Europa League, which Mourinho won with Manchester United in 2017, offers a realistic route to silver.
With the outcome decided, 16-year-old Dane Scarlett came on as a substitute to become the Spurs’ youngest player in a competitive game and twice came close to scoring a debut goal when the Spurs put the last 32 to the last. view.
Spurs’ best streak in two years: The stats Tottenham have won five straight games in all competitions for the first time since a six-run streak with Mauricio Pochettino in November 2018.
Mourinho’s team has kept three clean sheets in a row for the first time since April 2019.
Spurs have scored in 25 of their 26 home games in the Europa League since rebranding the competition in 2009-10.
Carlos Vinicius’ first goals for Spurs came in his fifth appearance for the club in all competitions.
He has participated in five goals in four European games for Tottenham.
Harry Winks’ goal came from a distance of 53.
7 yards: Only two goals have been scored from further away in the Europa League since 2009-10 (Jordi Gómez for Omonia Nicosia against PSV (61.
2 yards) and Kemar Roofe for Rangers against Standard Liege (55.
4 yards) – both in October of this year).
Whats Next? Tottenham will travel to Chelsea on Sunday at 16:30 GMT, before traveling to LASK for their penultimate match of the Europa League group stage next Thursday (5:55 pm).
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