Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Moura made his first Premier League start on Tuesday night.
Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has told the club’s official website that he feels Lucas Moura is now at the level as the rest of his squad after the winger’s display against Brighton and Hove Albion.
After losing their unbeaten league run in 2018 to Manchester City on Saturday night, Tottenham were back in action on Tuesday, searching for a major reaction to their 3-1 defeat.
A disappointing first-half showing at Brighton was largely forgotten when Son Heung-min somehow kept the ball in play, and teed up Harry Kane to turn home the opening goal.
However, Spurs were pegged back instantly, as Serge Aurier fouled Jose Izquierdo inside the penalty area, and Pascal Gross converted the subsequent spot kick past the despairing dive of Hugo Lloris.
Spurs couldn’t find the winning goal at the Amex Stadium, and some believe Pochettino’s rotation policy ultimately resulted in a poor performance on the South Coast.
One fringe player who came into the side was winger Lucas Moura, with the Brazilian making his first Premier League start since his move from Paris Saint-Germain in January.
Now, boss Pochettino has told the club’s official website that he now feels that Moura has shown he is at the same level as his teammates now after a slow start to life in North London, admitting that it isn’t easy to make an instant impact having barely played for PSG before heading to Spurs.
“He’s at the same level as the whole team,” said Pochettino. “We struggled in the first half and it wasn’t easy but he’s a player who arrived in January and was available in February. I told the media that we need to help him and it’s not easy when you don’t play for seven months. It’s step by step,” he added.
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