Jose Mourinho, their manager, may not care to talk about his table-topping Tottenham Hotspur as contenders for the Premier League title. But one of his players is prepared to broach the subject.
Lucas Moura admitted he was daring to dream. "Why not think of winning the Premier League?" asked Moura, a player forever associated with making Spurs believe in the improbable - it was the Brazilian whose second-half hat-trick delivered a place in the 2019 European Cup final.
“We have the capacity. I know it's early and there's a lot of games to play but we need to think, in every game, we are capable of winning the Premier League and it’s important that in every game we show that mentality.”
Having beaten Manchester City 2-0 to install themselves at the summit, Spurs go to Chelsea on Sunday looking to stretch a winning run to four league games, and, ideally, to arrive at Stamford Bridge not too fatigued after their Europa League appointment with Ludogorets Razgrad. Some senior players will be rested Thursday against the Bulgarians, Mourinho mindful that Chelsea will have had two extra days of recovery and practice, having played their midweek, Champions League match on Tuesday.
The demands of this season are intense for everybody, because of the concentrated calendar. They feel more so for Spurs, whose sixth-placed finish in the last Premier League meant having to enter the Europa League at the pre-qualifying stage. They had to play three matches, including trips to Bulgaria and North Macedonia, to earn the right to a spot in a group stage that meant trips to Belgium (Antwerp), Austria (LASK) and Bulgaria again, where they beat Ludogorets three weeks ago.
But, on paper, this Tottenham should have the depth of resources for a scarcely interrupted diet of two matches per week, and the collective knowhow to sustain a tilt at the very top of the Premier League.
Take away the eleven players - goalkeeper, four defenders, and six midfielders/forwards - who have accumulated most minutes so far, and you can still assemble a second-string Spurs XI that boasts two Premier League titles (Joe Hart), a combined three French Ligue 1 titles (Serge Aurier and Gio Lo Celso), a Europa League gold medal (Sergio Reguilon), three Dutch Eredivisie titles (Steven Bergwijn), and, of course, four Champions Leagues and a Spanish Liga (Gareth Bale). The club may have waited more than 12 years since anyone in a Spurs jersey lifted significant silverware, but there are plenty of medals dotted around their employees’ living-rooms.
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Harry Kane scores 200th goal
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WEST BROM RATINGS: Sam Johnstone - 7: Looked to have secured a valuable point late on with a fine save from Vinicius but was caught in no man's land for Kane's winner. AFP -
Darnell Furlong - 7: Managed to keep Bale in check and forced Lloris into a fine save with a header. AFP -
Semi Ajayi - 7. A commanding presence at the heart of the West Brom defence. Rock solid alongside centre-back partner Kyle Bartey. AFP -
Kyle Bartley - 7. Robust presence and stood up well to Kane's threat throughout. AFP -
Dara O'Shea - 6: A crucial block to deny Kane and a glancing header at the other end flashed just wide of the post. AFP -
Conor Townsend - 5: Passing too often went astray and never looked to take Doherty on. AFP -
Jake Livermore - 6: As strong as an ox in the tackle. A typical nuts-and-bolts display at the base of West Brom's midfield. AFP -
Conor Gallagher - 7: The on-loan winger with the surfer dude haircut showed he is willing to get stuck in and was unlucky to see his second-half effort clip the post. AFP -
Filip Krovinovic - 6. Bright on the ball in the first half as the hosts matched Spurs but faded out of the game after the interval. AFP -
Callum Robinson - 6: Always willing to run at the Spurs defence but badly lacking support. AFP -
Karlan Grant - 5: Always on the periphery. Hard to fathom why the lively Robinson was withdrawn well before his ineffective strike partner. AFP -
SUB: Grady Diangana (Robinson 67') - 5: Starved of the ball and failed to clear the first man when given corner kick duty. AFP -
SUB: Matt Phillips (Grant, 84') - N/A. No time to make an impact. AFP -
SUB: Kyle Edwards (Livermore, 89') - N/A. Introduced right after Spurs scored. AFP -
TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris - 7: Kept plenty busy by West Brom but was always alert. Reuters -
Matt Doherty - 7: Still shy of the form he showed at Wolves but the Irishman's wonferfully flighted ball for Kane led to a late winner. AFP -
Toby Alderweireld - 7: Little got past the Belgian while his passing from the back was impressive. Reuters -
Eric Dier - 8: Combative and commanding at the heart of the Spurs defence. Superb headed clearance to deny West Brom a goal early on. AFP -
Sergio Reguilon - 8: The Spanish speedster needs no invitation to get forward. Was Spurs' best attacking outlet down the left. -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 7: Another workmanlike performance from Spurs' no-thrills midfielder. Adds real steel in the middle of the park. AFP -
Moussa Sissoko - 6: The Frenchman's role seems a little diminished since Hojbjerg's arrival, but didn't let his side down here. AFP -
Tanguy Ndombele - 6: Always looking to break forward to join Spurs front three. Withdrawn in the second half after picking up an injury. Reuters -
Son Heung-min - 6: A rare quiet game for the South Korean forward. His touch deserted him a little today, although he had a glorious chance to open the scoring early on. EPA -
Gareth Bale - 6: Given his first league start since rejoining from Real Madrid on loan. You can see the relationship between Bale, Son and Kane showing some signs of working but the Welshman rarely troubled the West Brom defence. EPA -
Harry Kane - 7: Tottenham's talisman took his Premier League tally to 150 goals - level with Michael Owen - with a delicate header that only enhanced his reputation as a modern day great. EPA -
SUB: Giovani Lo Celso (Ndombele, 64') - 5: Wasted a superb chance from close range. AFP -
SUB: Carlos Vinicius (Bale, 78') - 6: Forced Johnstone into a finger-tip save with a fine turn and shot. Reuters -
SUB: Lucas Moura (Sissoko, 79') - 5: Ran and harried as West Brom piled pressure late on in search of an equaliser. AFP
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Moura had won a Copa Sudamericana with Sao Paulo and four Ligue 1 titles with Paris Saint-Germain by the age of 25. Now 28, he insists “we deserve to win a trophy - it’s time,” while acknowledging that with Bale approaching full match-fitness and Erik Lamela soon to be back from injury, his principal role may be as an impact substitute. “We have a lot of great players and we need to respect the decisions of the coach,” said the Brazilian. “I need to show when I'm on the pitch that I'm ready.”
The same would go for Lo Celso who, fresh from setting up goals in both of Argentina’s last two World Cup qualifiers, turned in a de luxe supersub performance against City. Introduced from the bench 20 minutes into the second half, he put Spurs 2-0 up 35 seconds after entering the game, tuning into the counter-attacking groove “with his fresh legs”, as his manager put it, to run on to Harry Kane’s superb pass.
It was Lo Celso’s fourth goal of the season across competitions, from just five games, and if he has come to learn almost exactly when he will be summoned from the bench by Mourinho - on 65 minutes in all three of the last Premier League matches - he knows there is science behind the clockwork timing. Spurs scored their winning goals against West Bromwich Albion and Brighton & Hove Albion after Lo Celso had joined their midfield, and he sealed the victory against City.
Mourinho must reach into Spurs’ defensive reserves against Ludogorets and against Chelsea. Toby Alderweireld, who picked up a muscle problem against City, will be out, Mourinho reported, for “two to four weeks.”
The manager encouraged the summer signing from Swansea City, Joe Rodon, to seize opportunities Alderweireld’s absence would bring. Rodon, a Wales international, is not registered yet for the Europa League, but could make a first start in one of the three London derbies ahead. By then Spurs will have played Chelsea, Arsenal, and Crystal Palace, their credentials as possible champions should be clearer. After that, they host Liverpool.
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Tottenham v Man City ratings
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TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR RATINGS vs MAN CITY: Hugo Lloris – 7. Could have rendered the debate about Laporte’s non-goal – ruled out for handball – academic by just catching the ball. But he stood up to everything else that got past the defence in front of him. AFP -
Serge Aurier – 8. Had to be alert given the frequent raids down his flank. He was impressively so, given the air miles he had racked up touring Ivory Coast and Madagascar in the previous fortnight. AFP -
Toby Alderweireld – 8. Made an immense tackle on Jesus to preserve the lead. It felt like a last-gasp, match-saving tackle. There were not even 10 minutes on the clock at that point. AP -
Eric Dier – 9.5. To keep City to nil required a whole team effort, but Dier was the rock on which it was built. An absolutely titanic shift. AFP -
Sergio Reguilon – 7. Lucky not to be punished for giving up possession cheaply in dangerous positions a number of times, but put in an impressive shift given his work with Spain. EPA -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 9. Blocked shots. Broke up play. Shackled De Bruyne. Easy to think he would be a fans’ favourite at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, if there were any fans present. Reuters -
Moussa Sissoko – 8. Importantly snubbed out a Torres break early on, and generally screened the Spurs defence well against the ambush. EPA -
Tanguy Ndombele – 7. Brilliant vision to find Son for the opener, and was generally savvy in possession. Looked glum to be removed for Lo Celso just after the hour. Reuters -
Steven Bergwijn – 7. Led the defensive effort from the front, and was smart with his use of the ball when the hosts did get the chance to break. PA -
Son Heung-min – 7. Scored the fifth-minute opener from Ndombele’s pass. He was frustrated not to double the lead when past Ederson just after the hour. EPA -
Harry Kane – 8. Unusually lax when he was caught offside and had a goal chalked off, but he was so industrious, and played a perfectly weighted pass for Lo Celso to score the second. AFP -
SUBSTITUTES: Giovani Lo Celso – 8. It took him 35 seconds after coming on for Ndombele to double Spurs’ lead, with a cool finish from Kane’s pass. Thereafter, he threw himself into tackles, and used the ball so cleverly. EPA -
Lucas Moura – 7. Clearly has the trust of Mourinho as he was thrown into the fray to help see out the win once Bergwijn showed signs of tiring. AP -
Joe Rodon – 6. On when the colossal Alderweireld pulled up with 10 minutes to go, meaning his more celebrated Welsh compatriot – Gareth Bale – had to sit back down on the bench for the rest of the game. AP -
MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson – 5. Beaten through his legs for both goals. Lucky not to be punished for a wayward charge past Son in the second. EPA -
Kyle Walker – 7. City’s dominance of territory and possession meant there was often plenty of space in their own half. They were indebted to Walker’s pace for covering those gaps a number of times. EPA -
Ruben Dias – 6. Rarely called upon in defence, but did stub out a Spurs attack at the start of the second phase. Naïve concession of a foul on Kane late on, for which he was booked. EPA -
Aymeric Laporte – 7. Had the ball in the net with a fine finish, but it was ruled out for a handball by Jesus. Made to work so hard by the tireless Kane and Son. EPA -
Joao Cancelo – 9. Extraordinary. Not always clear if he was playing left-back or a free role. Showed his side meant business with a powerful run and shot in the first minute, and rarely let up thereafter. Getty -
Rodri – 6. Saw a header saved from a free kick when well placed, and made an important turn defensively when he stopped a Bergwijn shot. AFP -
Kevin de Bruyne – 6. The Belgian playmaker must be sick of the sight of Hojbjerg, who followed him everywhere he went. On the few occasions he did get free of his marker, the Spurs block was good enough. PA -
Riyad Mahrez – 6. Too often wasteful in possession. Maybe understandable, given the tough travel schedule in the international window. AP -
Bernardo Silva – 7. Controlled the tempo for City in the first half, but faded slightly and had to give way for Phil Foden. EPA -
Ferran Torres – 6. Maybe he was emotionally drained after his epic hat-trick against Germany for Spain, as he struggled to make an impact. Reuters -
Gabriel Jesus – 6. Managed to be a nuisance to both teams. To Spurs with his mazy dribbling. And to City when he blocked a De Bruyne shot when he was prone on the floor, then handling before Laporte’s shot. EPA -
SUBS: Raheem Sterling – 6. As predicted by Mourinho, he did recover from the injury that kept him out of international duty, at least long enough for a cameo after replacing Mahrez. Getty -
Phil Foden – 6. Given 18 minutes at the end after coming on for Silva, but he had no chance to reprise the joy he had while on England duty. Getty
