Harry Kane has told BT Sport’s Live coverage of Tottenham beating Marseille 2-0 on Wednesday night in the Champions League, that Richarlison has had to be patient for his opportunities – but has worked hard in training.
Richarlison, 25, scored two brilliant headers for Tottenham to finally see off the challenge of Marseille. The Ligue 1 side, managed by Antonio Conte’s old Juventus teammate Igor Tudor, went down to 10 men just after the half-time break.
Chancel Mbemba took down Son Heung-min when he was through. Marseille dropped 20 yards and looked to defend with a low block. It saw Spurs huff and puff, and struggle to break the French side down. Space was limited.
But Ivan Perisic turned inside onto his left foot and his little, chipped cross found Richarlison. A gorgeous header, generating huge power, saw him open his Spurs account – on his Champions League debut. A second came soon after.
A deeper cross from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg saw Richarlison outmuscle the Marseille defenders to smash a header home. It might not have been Tottenham’s best-ever display, but Richarlison was sensational. Kane has applauded him.
“Richy’s been great when he’s come in, trained really hard, waited for his opportunities and played well whenever he’s had them. He’s a real threat, and a great couple of headers. For sure, he is competition,” Kane said, on BT Sport.
Kane: Richarlison has worked hard in Tottenham training
Richarlison started his first game for Tottenham on Saturday against Fulham and he was excellent. The ex-Everton man hit the post with a wonderful effort, and had one disallowed. But it was enough to keep his place against Marseille.
While he, like Spurs, had little impact throughout the entire match. But when the chances came, and the moment mattered, Richarlison took them with aplomb. The sign of a great striker, keeping calm under pressure when needed.
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