Speaking on the Under the Cosh Podcast, Kieran Trippier has been discussing the 2019 Champions League final and one controversial decision made by Mauricio Pochettino made at the time.
Pochettino had a massive dilemma heading into that final. Lucas Moura had netted a hat-trick in the semi-final in the absence of Harry Kane, but Kane was deemed fit enough to play against Liverpool in Madrid in that game.
Kane was, of course, Spurs’ star player, but Moura was in form and had earned a start after his showing against Ajax.
In a controversial move, Pochettino decided to start Kane – who clearly wasn’t fully fit, leaving Lucas on the bench.
This decision has been debated ever since, but Trippier has now claimed that Pochettino made the right choice, stating that it’s impossible to leave Kane on the bench for a game like this.
Trippier defends Kane starting
The right-back discussed the big call made in that final.
“Lucas yeah. Harry was injured and he was out for about two months with his ankle. Lucas got dropped and Harry came back in,” Trippier said.
“I understand that Lucas scored a hat-trick, but if you’re going to play Lucas and drop someone else who do you drop? Dele was flying that season, Christian was unbelievable and Sonny too. I understood the frustration about it, but you can’t have Harry on the bench, because he can score in any given moment.”
Hindsight is 20/20
It’s so easy to point towards not starting Lucas in the 2019 Champions League final as a mistake after the event, but at the time, it was a tough call to make.
Just imagine if Lucas Moura had started and the result was the same, people would immediately question why Kane wasn’t starting.
The reality is that football management isn’t always black and white, and while fans have the benefit of critiquing after the event, managers have to make huge decisions in the moment.
There’s an argument to make that Pochettino got this one wrong, but he was in something of a no-win situation at the time.
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