Despite having a fantastic 2018/19 campaign in which he scored several important goals for the side, Lucas Moura has once again had to be content with a place on the bench for most of Spurs’ games this season.
He has started only three Premier League games all season (transfermarkt.com) with Mauricio Pochettino preferring to use him as an impact substitute from the bench.
Moura started in the 1-1 draw against Watford last weekend but was replaced in the line up by Son Heung-Min in Tuesday’s win over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.
Former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy has revealed his bewilderment at the way the Brazilian international has been treated by Pochettino.
The former England international insisted that he had been impressed with Moura every single time he has played and claimed that the pacey attacker’s confidence could take a blow if Pochettino continues to overlook him.
Speaking to Drive on TalkSport (23/10/2019 at 5:15 pm), Murphy said, “I can only go off what I see but every time I watch Lucas Moura, he very rarely has a bad game. And when I say bad game, he can have bad moments in a game, but always has an impact.
“He makes things happen. I like his tenacity. He runs with the ball. He’s brave. He gets on the ball. He can leap by the way for a small fella. He can play right or left, so you can mix him up in the same game.
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“His fitness is good. He’s a goal threat. He can play down the middle, which he has done. And at a time when Tottenham have been struggling, he has been used sparingly.
“He scores a goal and then he gets left out. What does that do for any player? We saw what it did for Sanchez at United, who is arguably better than Moura.
“It doesn’t matter how good you are, you just need a manager to give you some belief. If Pochettino, who is a better manager than I’ll ever be, thinks that Lamela is better or Son is better, that’s fine.
“But Moura every time he goes in and does well gets left out again. And that’s not setting a good precedent for your players – I don’t get why he’s not using him more.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Moura seems to be more effective coming off the bench than he is when he starting games as he makes a real impact with his pace against tired defenders. While the Brazilian is a great option in games that are stretched, he is often ineffective if the opposition sit deep ad there is no space for him to run in behind.
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