Jose Mourinho handed Carlos Vinicius his first Premier League start for Tottenham against Chelsea because he wants the striker to provide a much-needed focal point up front.
Since Harry Kane sustained injuries to both his ankles during Spurs 3-1 defeat to Liverpool, Mourinho’s side have lost a reference point in attack; a player who can stay in a central role, and either receive possession or compete for aerial balls.
Against Brighton, Mourinho experimented with Son Heung-min and Gareth Bale either side of Steven Bergwijn but that offered little threat to a physically-dominant Seagulls back three.
With Chelsea fielding Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva at the back, starting Vinicius gives Spurs a more obvious match-up and the Brazilian has replaced Bale in attack.
Vinicius, on a season-long loan from Benfica, has seen his opportunities limited to just cup competitions prior to Thursday night with just 70 minutes of Premier League action.
"He came here to face a difficult challenge and he knew it,” Mourinho told BT Sport.
“As a team guy, he came with that spirit to help the team, especially when Harry Kane is not on the pitch.
Let's not compare the boys, if we start comparing, it's not an easy thing of course.
“But he has lots of energy, he is a guy with incredible spirit. He is a popular guy in the dressing room, he's a target man.
“The other day we played without a clear target man in attack and tonight we feel we need him. We trust him."
Vinicius’ loan has a £40m clause which allows Spurs to make the deal permanent at the end of the season.
Mourinho admitted on Wednesday that Kane is scheduled to return to the Spurs team next week against either Everton in the FA Cup or the Premier League contest against Manchester City.
