Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 LASK: 5 talking points as Spurs pick up a comfortable win| Europa League 2020-21
Tottenham Hotspur got their 2020-21 Europa League group stage campaign off to a winning start by defeating LASK at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs were rarely troubled by their Austrian opponents and ran out 3-0 winners, although to tell the truth, they could’ve scored more.
Lucas Moura opened the scoring in the first half following a wonderful pass from debutant Carlos Vinicius, and Tottenham’s lead was quickly doubled when a Gareth Bale cross was turned into the net by the unfortunate Andres Andrade.
Finally, the third goal was added by the in-form Son Heung Min with less than ten minutes remaining.
On that note, here are five talking points from Tottenham’s 3-0 win over LASK.
#1 Vinicius shows Tottenham fans that life without Kane might not be so bad
Tottenham fans have been waiting for a long time for their squad to feature a genuine backup for striker Harry Kane, and judging by the game against LASK, it looks like they might’ve found one. The match saw Brazilian striker Carlos Vinicius make his Spurs debut, with the player having an excellent game.
Sure, he missed a relatively easy chance early in the first half, but once he settled down, his movement and team-play were fabulous. Vinicius marked his debut with two assists, and both of them were impressive.
The first half saw the player pick up Lucas Moura with a pass that Kane himself would’ve been proud of, with his fellow Brazilian finishing off the chance with ease. In the second half, the striker was able to get his head to a ball from Matt Doherty to head into the path of Son Heung Min, who unsurprisingly found the back of the net.
LASK weren’t exactly the toughest opponents for Tottenham, it was still a highly impressive debut for Vinicius, who showed absolutely no nerves whatsoever. It looks like Jose Mourinho may have unearthed quite a player, and that can only be a good thing for Tottenham’s 2020-21 campaign.
#2 Tottenham looked quite vulnerable from set-pieces
If we’re really frank, LASK were relatively poor against Spurs. Despite the statistics showing that they had 11 shots – just two fewer than Tottenham – and had 46% of the possession, in reality, they were easily shrugged aside by Jose Mourinho’s men.
However, despite picking up a clean sheet for the first time in 2020-21, this wasn’t a flawless performance from Tottenham’s defence. Goalkeeper Joe Hart looked comfortable throughout and commanded his penalty area well, but that didn’t stop LASK from looking dangerous from set-pieces throughout the game.
That should be a concern for Mourinho, who has already seen his side concede a lot of cheap goals from set-pieces this season. If a poor side like LASK can look dangerous – even though they never came close to scoring – then it doesn’t bode well for Tottenham's chances against the Premier League's set-piece specialists.
With Spurs taking on Burnley on Monday evening, it’s probably something that Mourinho will want to work on in training as soon as possible. If Tottenham are to win trophies this season, they need to close this hole in their game.