Ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Villa Park, Lucas Moura demanded a response from his teammates after their poor performances against Arsenal and Dinamo Zagreb.
Tottenham looked like they had turned a corner heading into the North London derby last Sunday, having won five games in a row.
However, Spurs failed to get going at the Emirates last Sunday and deservedly lost the game.
The Lilywhites’ performance against Dinamo Zagreb was even poorer than the one in the derby as Jose Mourinho’s men fell to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat which dumped them out of the Europa League.
Tottenham go into the game against Aston Villa, looking for their first win against a top-half side since their 2-0 win over Manchester City back in November.
When asked why Spurs have struggled against the better sides over the last few months, Moura told The Mirror: “It’s hard to say why we haven’t beaten a top-half side since November.
“What I can say is that the three games we played before Arsenal, we did really well — nine points and played very well.
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“I don’t know what happened against Arsenal, that we decided to change.
“We didn’t play at our level and there is no excuse, there are no words to explain. But we are capable of beating these kind of teams.
“We are much better than what we did against Arsenal. Now we need to do differently against Aston Villa.
“We need to go there and show that we are capable of fighting for the Champions League.”
Moura admitted that there was plenty of disappointment in the Spurs dressing room on the back of the North London derby defeat but the Brazilian stressed the need to look forward rather than dwelling on results.
He added: “Of course we are all disappointed about the game and frustrated because we could have done much much better.
“We didn’t play at our level. We were too passive in the game — no intensity, no aggression.
“We are aware that we can do much better. But now that’s in the past, we don’t have time to cry, we need to look forward.”
The former Paris Saint-Germain winger also acknowledged that the fight for the top four is tougher than it has ever been.
“Since I have been here in the Premier League, it’s the most difficult season”, he said.
“And the most different season, because we don’t have fans because of the situation.
“The fight for the top four, for the Champions League, is so tight.
“We have 10 games to play. We are capable of qualifying, but we need to think game by game, step by step, and do the job we were doing well before the Arsenal game.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While we are only six points off fourth spot with a game in hand, there are six teams competing for the last Champions League birth. So, qualifying for the Europa League is likely the best we can hope for.
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