New Tottenham Star Almost Made Second Appearance versus Burnley
By Aaron Coe
Jose Mourinho had new striker Carlos Vinicius all set to come on for the last quarter hour at Turf Moor, but the Brazilian was pulled back following Spurs goal.
It was clear to anyone watching, Jose Mourinho was not interested in settling for a draw with Burnley on Monday evening at Turf Moor. Tottenham built up a head of steam over the course of the game, but were having difficulty breaking down a tough, well disciplined Burnley side. At the 69-minute mark the camera panned to the sideline where you could see Jose Mourinho providing instructions to Tottenham Hotspur new boy Carlos Vinicius.
Not Tottenham Time for Vinicius
Carlos Vinicius had two assists in his good debut midweek versus LASK. While his only real attempt at goal went wide, his willingness to make runs and his natural footballing sense make him a great option when looking to break down teams. Vinicius had finished his warm-up, received his final instructions and was standing on the sideline, warm-up off ready to go when Tottenham got the decisive corner kick.
What is not clear is who Vinicius was going to come in for, as the player on loan with Tottenham from Benfica never saw his number go up on the sign and was pulled back from the touchline. Lamela took the corner just under 75 minutes, which Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son connected on to create the winning goal.
At that point, no longer chasing a goal or the lead, Jose Mourinho quickly changed his plans and Giovani Lo Celso came into the game instead, replacing Tanguy Ndombele. You could tell Vinicius was as disappointed he did not come on as Ndombele was to be coming off. However, given the lead and desire to not needlessly drop points late again, Mourinho was not going to take any chances at that point.
Ndombele looked like he may have picked up a knock as Burnley bowled over several Spurs on the night, the Frenchman included with both his first and last touches of the ball and several in between. Ultimately, given Spurs held on to the three points and Lo Celso was peerless in his cameo completing all 14 of his passes and helping see the game.
Jose Mourinho did bring on one new player as Joe Rodon made his debut for the last two minutes of injury time. As for Carlos Vinicius, he will have to wait a couple days for another Europa League match, to see if he can get his second appearance for Spurs. What we do know is if Mourinho thinks it is the right call we will see Vinicius and if he does not, we will not, because all Jose Mourinho wants to do is win. As a fan of the club over the individuals I am okay with that.