Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Moura comments on not starting Champions League final

Follow us on Google Discover

Tottenham Hotspur star Lucas Moura started the Champions League final last season as a substitute.

Tottenham Hotspur winger Lucas Moura has told The Guardian that he was “sad” not to start the Champions League final against Liverpool last season.

Moura was not included in Tottenham’s starting lineup for the final against Premier League rivals Liverpool in May.

The 27-year-old Brazil international was the star of the show for Spurs in the semi-finals of Europe’s premier club competition, as he scored a hat-trick against Ajax in the semi-finals.

The former Paris Saint-Germain star has said that he was “sad” not to start the Champions League final against Liverpool, but he has made it clear that he respects manager Mauricio Pochettino’s decision.

Moura told The Guardian: “He didn’t speak with me, he didn’t explain anything but it’s normal. He chose and I need to respect. I needed to be ready to come on and play. To be honest, in the hotel when he gave the starting XI, I was a little bit sad.

“Of course, I would like to play but the most important thing was to win the game. The coach needs to choose 11 players, he can only choose 11 players and we need to respect. I don’t have a problem with this.

“Of course, I was sad inside. I want to play. But I know how to understand, I know how to respect and I know how difficult it is for him to choose 11 players. So that’s football. We need to be professional and keep working.”

Stats

Moura was one of the best players for Tottenham last season and was a key figure in them finishing in the top four of the Premier League table and also reaching the final of the Champions League.

According to WhoScored, the Brazil international made 25 starts and seven substitute appearances in the Premier League for Spurs last season, scoring 10 goals in the process.

The winger made eight starts and four substitute appearances in the Champions League for Tottenham in 2018-19, scoring five goals in the process, according to WhoScored.

Moura made played 124 minutes in the Premier League for Spurs so far this campaign, scoring one goal and providing one assist in the process, according to WhoScored.