‘I didn’t expect to be on the bench’ – Lucas Moura opens up on Spurs snub
Lucas Moura has admitted that he did not expect to be left out of the starting eleven for the Champions League final in 2019 but insists that he did not let that impact his focus on trying to win the game.
Lucas Moura‘s heroics in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Ajax will live long in the memories of Spurs fans, with the Brazilian producing a sensational second-half hat-trick to send the Lilywhites to the final.
On the back of that performance, the winger would have been forgiven for thinking that he was assured of a place in the starting eleven for the showpiece event in Madrid.
Instead, Mauricio Pochettino opted to leave him on the bench and bring Harry Kane, who had been injured in the preceding months, into the team.
The decision ended up costing the Lilywhites as Kane did not look match fit, with the Reds emerging 2-0 winners on the night.
When asked about the feeling of being left on the bench for the final, Moura told Football.London: “Everyone asks me this! Yes, the feeling was bad. I didn’t expect it.
“Of course, I wanted to play but what can I say? It’s the coach’s decision.
“I just… it was mutual respect and I was so focused to win that game, to be champion that I didn’t let this affect me or affect the team, but of course, I wanted to play. I didn’t expect to be on the bench.”
Spurs Web Opinion
If Kane had declared himself fit for the game, I do not see how Pochettino could have left him out of the starting eleven.
The Argentine would have been criticised for leaving the England captain on the bench if Moura had started the game and we had failed to win.
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