Given how furious Jose Mourinho was after Tottenham’s loss against Royal Antwerp on Thursday, it was inevitable that there would be quite a lot of changes for the clash against Brighton on Sunday.
Five players who started the match in Belgium – Carlos Vinicius, Serge Aurier, Davinson Sanchez, Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn – all found themselves failing to even make the bench against Graham Potter’s side.
While most of those names would not have been surprised to be left out after their performance last Thursday, one man who can consider himself unlucky is Vinicius.
Despite being one of four Tottenham players to be taken off at half-time against Antwerp, the Brazilian was one of the away side’s better players in the first 45 minutes, providing a focal point for their attack.
Football.London has revealed that the Benfica loanee was not carrying any injury and that Mourinho had simply decided to drop him from the squad on Sunday.
The report reveals that the Spurs boss was trying to send a message to his players with his selection on Sunday that nobody’s place in the squad is safe if they are not able to perform at the expected level.
Vinicius would have been disappointed at being left out of the squad and the striker will be hoping to remind Mourinho of his qualities if he gets a chance against Ludogorets on Thursday.
Spurs Web Opinion
Mourinho’s decision to be publicly critical of his players on Thursday makes more sense in hindsight. It is clear that the Spurs boss does not want the players to drop their standards. I expect the likes of Vinicius, Bergwijn and Lo Celso to be fired up to perform against Ludogorets after the Tottenham boss’ comments last week.
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