The Good and Bad Carlos Vinicius for Tottenham v Wolfsberger

Carlos Vinicius has been an interesting loaner for Tottenham Hotspur. The Brazilian striker has done well in Europa League with six goals and three assists in seven matches. While no one expected Vinicius to play 45 minutes a match in the Premier League to have played less than the equivalent of two games 2/3 of the way through the season seems insufficient given the production in Europe. That said, Spurs match versus Wolfsberger where Vinicius grabbed a brace demonstrated both the good and the not so good that Carlos Vinicius brings to the pitch.

Areas for Carlos Vinicius to Improve

The first half was mostly one to forget for Carlos Vinicius. The Brazilian struggled to hold the ball up and was being physically roughed up in the air. Vinicius was mostly a non-factor for the first nearly 30 minutes.

The two most notable contributions from the striker in the first half hour were him not catching up to a decent Dele cross and then doing some decent hold up play right at the half hour and earning a foul. That ability to hold a ball played to his feet from Toby Alderweireld and allow the team to push up, absorb the contact and get the dead ball is critical in Spurs offense.

A play Vinicius had struggled with not 10 minutes earlier he was doing great then.  However, that hold-up play was followed by what was a pretty poor offside call, where like on the cross from Dele a player with a bit more awareness on the pitch would have done better in both instances.

The biggest miss in the first half was not even a miss but was still an opportunity lost.

Vinicius had gotten to the ball in the box just before the keeper and doing his best Erik Lamela impersonation stepped over the ball and had the keeper rounded. The goal was open and Vinicius side-footed the ball toward the middle of the net. Just in time a defender came over and cleared the ball off the line as Dele stood helpless a couple feet away.

It was a clear goal scoring opportunity and one that should have been finished. While catching up with Dele’s cross would have been hard for almost anyone in the first half, once a keeper is beaten you have to finish.

Between the missed opportunities, the offside and the struggle to consistently play hold-up left Carlos with a less than impressive first half. However, in the second half, we saw many of the things that leaves you thinking that this young man can be so much more.

What Carlos Vinicius did Right for Tottenham

Whereas the instinct to find the end of a cross was not there in the first half and the one cross Vinicius did catch he headed over, in the second half Vinicius was on the money. Almost like running a backdoor play in basketball with Dele Alli, the defender had no idea where Carlos Vinicius was behind him on Spurs second goal on the evening. Add a picturesque header back in the direction it came, down toward the ground, and the goal was really great.

Of course the second goal for Vinicius the fourth and final for Spurs was a true poachers goal, where he even poached it from his mate. In a move reminiscent to when Heung-Min Son stepped in and took a goal it looked like Vinicius had in his hand, Vinicius stepped in front of the touch from Dane Scarlett and blasted home first time. The awareness in the box is something Carlos Vinicius has shown pretty consistently, it is just getting both him and the ball there we need to work on.

Ultimately, it was a match where the goals carried the day and Vinicius did a lot more right than wrong. Whether that leads to more minutes and opportunities elsewhere for Tottenham or a permanent stay here at N17 is difficult to say at this point. However, there is no doubt that he is improving and his toolbox brings something different than most of the other attacking options for Spurs. As such, there is no doubt he has a big role still to play this season.