Crisis? What crisis? José Mourinho responded to the week that threatened to derail Tottenham’s season by selecting a second striker, in Carlos Vinícius, to take some of the workload off Harry Kane and don’t you just know it, they both scored to move their team to within three points of the Premier League’s top four.
After the hullabaloo that followed two emotional defeats in five days, the Spurs manager praised his “ashamed” players for their spirited reaction but challenged them to play with “this emotional approach, this team spirit, this sacrifice” every week.
Following what Kane called the “embarrassing” knockout blows by Arsenal in the Premier League and Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League, Mourinho elicited the kind of performance he wants his squad to see as the norm but accepted is difficult to expect within football nowadays.
He was able to make his point to any disenchanted squad players with a basic team selection of fielding big man with big man up front. It was not pretty, but it worked pretty well.
Vinícius scored his first Premier League goal in the first half before Kane won and converted a penalty in the second for his 17th of the season.
Aston Villa, again disappointing, have collected only five points from the six games without Jack Grealish, who is due back from his shin injury after the international break.
Mourinho was gratified by his team’s performance but sees a bigger challenge looming that incorporates societal aspects beyond his control. “We had the attitude,” he said. “We changed some little details about the tactical approach but this is not about tactics, it’s about attitude, so total credit to the players.
“The players gave absolutely everything. It’s a pity we could only make three changes [substitutes] because everyone was at the limits – cramps, fatigue – that are connected with a performance where they gave everything. My next challenge as their coach is to have this attitude every week, and not just as a reaction to a bad result.
“Football nowadays is not easy in relation to that. The selfism is around; the individual interests are around; the agents are around; the connection between agents and press is around. Instead of the feeling of team empathy.
“You need time to develop this in the group. Nowadays you need time because the psychological profile of younger people is not an easy one.”
Mourinho even selected two 16-year-olds, Dane Scarlett and Alfie Devine, among his substitutes. “I need players for who this game is really important,” he said, naming no names for whom the two previous games by implication were evidently not that important. “This positivity is what the team needed and I saw that. The two best defenders in my team were Harry Kane and Carlos Vinícius.
“This is the victory of a group that were ashamed with what happened in the past week. To be ashamed is a man’s reaction. [If you] don’t care, don’t give a shit, [this] is not from a man. To be ashamed is a man’s emotional reaction, which they had, and I’m very happy with that.”
It is a long time since Spurs fielded two centre-forwards in the same league game – more than three years since Kane was partnered by Fernando Llorente for an FA Cup tie with AFC Wimbledon – although Kane dropped off to play in the role of his shirt number for much of the game.
Despite looking leg-heavy and defensively indecisive in the opening stages, Spurs made the breakthrough thanks to their new forward pairing.
With Gareth Bale and Dele Alli benched, Erik Lamela suspended and Son Heung-min injured, Spurs had less chance to play through midfield. So when Sergio Reguilón played a long channel ball towards Vinícius and Emiliano Martínez came rushing out of his goal to clear, Spurs at least had men up to capitalise.
Lucas Moura did brilliantly to win the first ball and then, after finding Kane, even better to run on to the return down the left and square the ball for Vinicíus to tap in his first Premier League goal.
Villa did not have a shot on goal until the 58th minute when Trezeguet mishit his volley from Morgan Sanson’s cross. “We’ve been good defensively, but we’ve lacked creativity in the final third,” Dean Smith, their manager, said.
Villa, who have scored only three goals in six games, were just threatening to find a way back into the game when Spurs, playing their 48th game of the season, began to tire and Matty Cash unnecessarily clipped Kane’s heels, with the ball about to run out of play.
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Spurs had their platform for recovery. The England captain stepped up to score his 27th goal of a season that could still work out well for the club and their manager.
His gamble paid off on the night. Now let’s see what his talented squad players make of his challenge to give their all every week.