Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough on Sunday afternoon.
Tottenham Hotspur face an unwanted FA Cup replay after drawing 1-1 away at Championship side Middlesbrough on Sunday afternoon.
Spurs will have been hoping to get past Boro and advance into the fourth round of the competition without any trouble, but Jonathan Woodgate’s men gave them a scare.
Having gone into the game with four straight wins, it was no great surprise that Boro were buoyant, and they took the lead when Ashley Fletcher raced clear to slot past Paulo Gazzaniga.
Spurs were saved by a Lucas Moura header, as he converted Serge Aurier’s cross to secure a 1-1 draw and a replay in North London later this month.
- 'Not even close': Mourinho says one Spurs star is miles away from playing
- Jose Mourinho says Tottenham Hotspur are missing Giovani Lo Celso
Jose Mourinho really won’t have wanted the game to go to a replay, but at least Spurs are still in the hat for the fourth round as they seek to hit top form.
Mourinho has plenty to think about ahead of next weekend’s game with Liverpool, and a start for Giovani Lo Celso may be in order after a strong cameo against Boro.
The Argentine midfielder came off the bench to make a real impact, providing forward passes, drive and creativity to help Spurs get back into the game, with Christian Eriksen yet again faltering.
Fans took to Twitter to praise Lo Celso, believing he changed the game and was the only positive to emerge from the draw, praising his style of play as a forward-thinking midfielder whilst urging Mourinho to finally give him more starts.
Lo Celso comes on and we start playing much better football, imagine my shock
— Jaydn (@ThfcJaydn) January 5, 2020
Lo Celso has changed the dynamic of our attack. #COYS #THFC
— Richard Clark (@Richard_Clark) January 5, 2020
Lo Celso is instantly the best player on the pitch after coming on. Incisive passing between the lines, finding gaps Eriksen should have been exploiting earlier in the game. #FACup #MIDTOT #THFC #COYS
— Mike Luckhurst (@MikeLuckhurst) January 5, 2020
Would you believe it, we bring on Lo Celso and he immediately impacts the game and we score. We have so many boring sideways passes in our team who take no risks but Gio isn’t one of them
— Max (@MaxTHFC_) January 5, 2020
Lo Celso is already our Man of the Match & he’s only been on for 5 minutes. He’s done much more than the others put together in the whole game.#COYS #THFC
— Nick Davison (@nick_davison10) January 5, 2020
Just another #thfc game that Giovani Lo Celso has changed in our favour.
— ROSS (@RossTweeting) January 5, 2020
I really hope we sign Lo Celso soon. What a player he is going to be
— Joe (@JblincoTHFC) January 5, 2020
The only positive today was Lo Celso. He was superb when he came on and without him we would be out of the cup now
— Joe (@JblincoTHFC) January 5, 2020
As much as I’m happy we live to fight another day in the competition, that was lame yet again from most of that lot out there. Dele was horrendous, takes too many touches and so slow on the ball, lo celso was the only positive for me, such a forward thinking player #COYS #THFC
— David Beynon (@beynon80) January 5, 2020
Lo Celso looked good today. He needs to start. #FACup #COYS #THFC #MIDTOT
— ~Bobby P~#COYS #THFC #GoHabsGo (@BobbyPrica) January 5, 2020
Lo Celso & Lamela were the only ones moving today and looking to go forward. They HAVE to have a run of games now. #COYS #THFC
— Gary (@GazzaTHFC) January 5, 2020
Thought Lo Celso and Lamela changed the game by injecting a bit of pace and desire to ge the ball moving quicker. Before that the lack of urgency and fight was pathetic
— THFC Fans (@THFC__Fans) January 5, 2020
Defence complete shambles,Lo Celso needs to start more…A pointless replay,doesn’t do us any favours
— Vik THFC (@Vikramcoys) January 5, 2020
Lo Celso changed the game the moment he came on. Quick progressive passing between the lines. Hope Mourinho saw it that way #thfc
— Ndombellend (@Ndombellend) January 5, 2020
In other news, Gary Lineker stunned by what he’s hearing from some Liverpool fans after Leicester defeat