Tottenham Hotspur head coach Jose Mourinho has told Football.London why he decided to bring Carlos Vinicius on against Wolfsberger.
Vinicius, signed on loan from Benfica in the summer of 2020, did not start for Tottenham in their Europa League Round of 32 first-leg tie against Wolfsberger away from home on Thursday evening.
The 25-year-old forward came on as a substitute for Son Heung-min at the start of the second half and scored in the 88th minute.
Mourinho told Football.London: “Let Vinicius play. Vinicius is a very hard-working guy, always ready to help the team when we need, so it was always fair for Vinicius to have 45 minutes and to score his goal.”
Sensible decision
Tottenham were 3-0 up at half time, and it was clear that the Premier League club were going to win the match.
There was no point in Son staying on the pitch for the second half, especially as Spurs have a tough London derby against West Ham United in the Premier League coming up this weekend.
Vinicius is essentially a squad player at Spurs, but it is important that he gets playing time at regular intervals.
The goal for the Brazilian will have certainly enhanced his confidence, and perhaps he could be needed to do a job off the substitutes’ bench against the Hammers this weekend.
According to WhoScored, Vinicius has made one start and five substitute appearances in the Premier League, and has scored four goals and provided three assists in six Europa League games for Spurs this season.
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