‘Depends on the moment’ – Mourinho reveals why he started fab four at Fulham

Jose Mourinho has admitted that he is spoilt for choice in the attacking areas of the pitch and that he will be chopping and changing Tottenham’s frontline depending on the requirements of each match.

Mourinho started with a front four of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Gareth Bale and Dele Alli for the first time this season at Craven Cottage yesterday evening much to the delight of some Spurs fans.

While none among the quartet particularly stood out in the game, all four players worked their socks off without the ball to close down spaces and help Spurs defend from the front.

Dele thought he had got himself on the scoresheet when he directed Son’s low cross into the back of the net but the goal was given as a Tosin Adarabioyo own goal after it touched the Fulham defender.

It was a case of holding on to the lead during much of the second half for Spurs, with Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela coming on in the latter stages to help the away side see out the game.

Mourinho admitted that he likes all the attacking players in the squad and will continue to rotate upfront depending on the demands of each game.

When asked why he started Kane, Son, Alli and Bale together, the Spurs boss told Football.London: “I like them all, and Vinicius and Bergwijn and was not even on the bench.

“We have this group of eight players for these attacking positions and I like them all so it depends on the moment, it depends on the work, it depends on the match plan and the position, the accumulation of matches.

“The previous two matches it was Lucas that was starting and he needs a rest. We could feel him coming in the last 20 minutes could give elevation to the team.

“The squad is working really well, it is a normal situation to give players time, we had guys on the bench, we have a good squad and I have to use it because it is very hard.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Fans have been clamouring for the front four we saw yesterday but I felt it was harsh on both Moura and Lamela to drop them after their recent performances. In fact, Lamela has been our standout attacker over the last couple of months and offers much more than Alli does both on and off the ball

Alli does not contribute much when he does not score and has not done much to warrant a regular start apart from his performance against a poor Wolfsberger side. The England international looked pretty lacklustre when he came off the bench against West Ham and Burnley. I would expect both Lamela and Lucas to start against Palace on Sunday.

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