Lucas Moura demonstrates mastery in the Midlands as Tottenham return to winning ways at Aston Villa

Tottenham Hotspur dusted themselves off after one of their worst weeks in recent history, overcoming Aston Villa 2-0 at Villa Park on Sunday evening thanks to goals from Carlos Vinicius and Harry Kane either side of half-time.

José Mourinho’s side had seen a lead slip in a defeat to arch-rivals Arsenal in the North London derby last weekend as well as falling victim to a famous comeback from Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb in midweek which saw the Lilywhites crash out of the Europa League.

However, it was a very professional performance and the ideal response in the West Midlands against a Villa side who have also been sniffing out European qualification for the duration of the campaign.

A poor clearance from Villa ‘keeper Emi Martinez was capitalised on by Spurs’ front line, which looked vicious throughout the evening, with 25-year-old Benfica-loanee Carlos Vinicius tapping home after being teed-up by fellow-Brazilian Lucas Moura.

The second was all Harry Kane’s work. The England skipper was brought down by Matty Cash with Mike Dean offering little hesitation to award a penalty. However, the decision was certainly controversial with some pundits expressing their disagreement with the decision.

Ultimately, the 27-year-old slotted home his 17th league goal of the season to go level with Mo Salah at the top of the race for the golden boot.

Despite the strike-duo of Kane and Vinicius netting the goals, another forward stole the show for the North London side…and that was Lucas Moura.

The Brazilian was awarded the man of the match accolade by Sky Sports as the winger bamboozled the Villa defence on numerous occasions, proving Spurs’ most efficient offensive outlet on numerous occasions.

?Man of the Match, @SpursOfficial’s Lucas Moura
Assist for first goal
Most chances created (4)
Most touches (85)
Most dribbles (8)
Most fouls won (6)#AVLTOT pic.twitter.com/U0xO9kk84p

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) March 21, 2021

In a game of limited chances, Moura consistently looked bright and was involved in some way every time Spurs ventured forward.

The 28-year-old was one of few survivors from the team that started in Zagreb on Thursday night, with José Mourinho making seven changes from the 3-0 defeat which saw some play 120 minutes just three days prior to the trip to Birmingham. Moura certainly didn’t look fatigued as he played the entire game.

Since his move to the English capital from PSG in January 2018, Moura has failed to make a mark on the side significant enough to warrant regular, week-in, week-out starts. Be that as it may, the Brazilian has proven to be a shrewd purchase over the past two-and-a-half seasons for £25m.

Some, if not most Spurs fans would argue that his infamous hat-trick against Ajax in the Champions League semi-final back in 2019 alone more than justified the price-tag, with the forward certainly proving to be a fan favourite during his time at Tottenham.

With two full seasons under his belt in North London, as well as two halves, if Moura’s Tottenham tenure was demonstrated on a graph, it would look rather loopy, full of peaks and troughs.

The winger managed just one goal in 11 appearances in his first season as a Tottenham player after a January deadline day move in the 2017/18 season; the effort was scored in a 2-2 FA Cup fifth-round tie away at League One Rochdale.

However, after analysing the statistics from the winger’s first full-season with Spurs, you wonder why it’s not gotten much better for Moura.

Across 44 appearances in the Premier League and Champions League combined during 2018/19, the Brazilian netted 15 goals as well as registering one assist, including that infamous hat-trick against Ajax that saw Spurs reach the Champions League final.

Averaging a goal involvement every 2.75 games that campaign was as good as it’s gotten for Lucas Moura in the famous Lilywhite of Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite scoring ten goals in 32 Premier League appearances that season, the 28-year-old has scored seven in the following 59 games. His assist tally is improved, however, with six in 40 appearances across all competitions this campaign, one of which recorded in the win at Aston Villa. But he’s certainly capable of stronger numbers.

With nine Premier League games remaining and a League Cup final to come after the international break, Moura will be a kingpin in Jose Mourinho’s side if he is to replicate performances like Sunday’s on a more regular basis.

Recent games suggest that the Brazilian is on the brink of good form and could have a strong end to the campaign, having played 90 minutes in Tottenham’s last three Premier League games and assisting in the last two.

On his day, the Brazilian is one of the Premier League’s most exciting forwards. But, as easy as it is to say, Tottenham need him to display that quality on a more regular basis, especially as they hunt a top-six finish and a cup win in the final games of the 2020/21 season.

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