Jose Mourinho praises Carlos Vinicius after his brace against Ludogorets
Talking in the post-match interview (h/t Football.london) after the 4-0 win against Ludogorets, Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho praised the on-loan Carlos Vinicius after the Brazilain scored a brace and assisted one goal.
Tottenham Hotspur beat Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad 4-0 on Thursday in the UEFA Europa League group J encounter. Carlos Vinicius opened the scoring after an assured inside-the-box finish into the bottom right corner.
The on-loan striker from SL Benfica then tapped the ball into an empty net from two yards out after a great solo effort from Tanguy Ndombele set up Dele Alli for the resulting assist to Vinicius.
A Harry Winks ‘mishit’ long-range goal made it 3-0 before Carlos Vinicius set up Lucas Moura with a simple assist inside the box to complete the 4-0 scoreline.
Carlos Vinicius joined Tottenham hotspur on loan from SL Benfica this season. (GETTY Images)
Speaking about Vinicius’ performance in the post-match press conference, Mourinho spoke about the striker’s recent contributions despite the lack of Premier League gametime.
“He is not playing a lot, especially in Premier League but he helped us to win the game at West Bromwich and in Europa League he is doing okay and adapting. Today was good that he scored an important goal.”
Mourinho went on to add the need for Vinicius to show physicality in the Premier League but also noted how he has made the squad more balanced.
“The second one is 75 percent Dele’s goal, but then in the second half he assists Lucas for his goal. He is a big boy, a strong boy, and needs to be more physical in the Premier League but I am happy. It is good for the team to have that because for example last season if Harry Kane needed a rest – we couldn’t and because Vinicius is here, the squad is much more balanced.”
Carlos Vinicius now has 2 goals and 3 assists in Europe this season. (GETTY Images)
These were the first two goals for Carlos Vinicius this season, who has now scored twice and assisted 3 times in 4 Europa League matches for Tottenham.
The 25-year-old Brazilian has only played 12 minutes in the Premier League this season but would hope that the brace against Ludogorets would earn him some minutes in the derby against Chelsea this weekend.
