With Gareth Bale back at Tottenham and fit enough to feature for Jose Mourinho’s side, there’s extra scrutiny on Lucas Moura’s place in the XI.
Back on loan from Real Madrid, Bale made his second Spurs debut in the closing stages of the recent 3-3 draw with West Ham with a first start coming in the midweek 3-0 victory over LASK in the Europa League.
Now looking over his shoulder, Moura will have to impress if he’s to keep a regular place in Mourinho’s XI. But the 28-year-old didn’t take the opportunity to do so in Monday evening’s narrow 1-0 victory at Burnley.
There was plenty of endeavour and energy from the Brazilian, who was making runs and asking for the ball throughout the first half, but he failed to pick up the ball in dangerous areas or make anything of note happen.
When the whistle was blown to signal the end of the first half, Moura had registered just 15 touches - the fewest of any Tottenham player - while only Burnley target man Chris Wood had fewer of the 22 players on the pitch.
He’d also failed to register a single completed dribble or a shot, and his nine completed first-half passes was also the fewest from any of Mourinho’s men.
It was a flat performance all round from Mourinho’s men, who struggled to create openings against a characteristically organised, defensively-drilled display from Sean Dyche’s Clarets.
The Spurs coach had seen enough 10 minutes after the break as his side didn’t look any more likely to breach the hosts’ low block, responding by withdrawing Moura and bringing on Erik Lamela on the 57th minute.
That it was Lamela, rather than Bale, suggests the Welshman might not be pushing for a Premier League start just yet, with Europa League run-outs looking likely in the foreseeable future as they look to get him back up to speed.
It might be some time, if ever, before Bale is ready and able to make the kind of game-changing interventions that he did so regularly back in 2012/13, with that trademark long-range shooting ability a precious asset against compact, deep-lying defences like Burnley’s.
Mourinho evidently thought a different kind of lock-pick was necessary at Turf Moor, which was vindicated as Lamela’s corner was flicked on by Harry Kane to Son Heung-min for the only goal of a game low on chances all-round.
To put Moura’s contributions in context, his replacement Lamela, who played 25 minutes fewer, registered nine more touches, one more dribble, and one more shot, which was headed on target.
It might be a wait yet for unused substitute Bale to start knocking on Mourinho’s door for a first Premier League start since 2013, but Moura did little to keep him out of the team, while Lamela underlined his own claim in a comparatively lively cameo.
