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José Mourinho has felt annoyed by Tottenham’s Europa League defeat in Antwerp late last month. It was the night he replaced four of his players at halftime. This victory represented a safer step and knew a redemption for two of those uprooted; a timely injection of confidence for them.
It was Dele Alli’s first appearance since Antwerp and Carlos Vinícius’ third. They responded by leading the Spurs to an impregnable 2-0 lead in the first half; There providing the assists, Vinícius the shots. They were the latter’s first goals since his loan from Benfica.
Pretty much everything went well for the Spurs, who now know that a road point against Lask in the next tie will secure their qualification, while nothing did for Ludogorets. They were terribly poor and didn’t get a shot on goal.
The different fortunes of the teams were summed up when Harry Winks attempted to select Gareth Bale’s run in the second half from a position to the left, more than 50 meters from goal. The diagonal was passed, but the ball went over the goalkeeper, Plamen Iliev, and entered the far post.
Winks could not hide his laughter and did not attempt to claim that he had. “If it was me, I would say that I tried to score and be a candidate for the Puskas award,” Mourinho said with a smile.
Vinícius’ goals were the highlight for him but he was also able to reflect on his part in the fourth. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, came on as a substitute, won the ball and, when Alli crossed, Vinícius’ control inside the area was perfect. He passed it on to Lucas Moura, who chose the corner.
“Vinicius needs to be more physical in the Premier League but I’m happy [with him]”Mourinho said. “Last season, if Harry Kane needed to rest, he couldn’t. Now the squad is much more balanced ”.
It was a night of three Spurs debuts, with Mourinho introducing goalkeeper Alfie Whiteman, midfielder Harvey White, and forward Dane Scarlett in the 82nd minute. At 16 years and 247 days old, Scarlett became into the youngest player in the club, eclipsing John Bostock’s record, and it was almost glory for him. He took a strong bunt after Winks’ ball over the top, but still managed his shot only for lliev to block it from close range. White, who trains with the first team every day, threw the rebound just past the far post.
Mourinho’s starting eleven featured just two players hoping to start in Sunday’s Premier League derby at Chelsea, Davinson Sánchez and Tanguy Ndombele, and it was the latter who found Alli between the lines to provoke the first goal. Alli tried to slip Bale, who was in an offside position, but the ball broke to Dragos Grigore for Vinícius, who took a secured first touch and advanced to finish. After Alli’s season, he had the right to argue that he was lucky.
The Spurs were excellent before the break, squeezing high and bringing intensity. The ludogorets could not escape their half. There he held good positions, Ndombele had fun in central midfield and full-backs Matt Doherty and Ben Davies kept going.
Alli’s second assist was a beauty, the kind of instinctive move she specializes in, and it followed a blast from Ndombele. He watched him leave a group of Ludogorets players in his wake and shoot towards the bottom corner, taking a save from Iliev. There he was available and the shot to the near unguarded corner was on. Instead, in a beautiful disguise, he cut out for Vinícius, who whipped the empty net. “That was Dele’s 75% goal,” Mourinho said.
It wasn’t Bale’s night. He missed three free throws early in the race, the second a replay, and threw another high effort in the first half. After the break, his muffled header was in front of Vinícius while Iliev denied him one on one. The Spurs could look to other opportunities, with Alli, Winks and Lucas on the sidelines. Davies also hit the outside of the near post. It was a procession.
