Danny Murphy hails Tottenham attacker Lucas Moura

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Danny Murphy singled out Tottenham substitute Lucas Moura for special praise after his performance in the win over Manchester City on Tuesday night.

Spurs produced a resilient display at home to beat Pep Guardiola’s side 1-0 in the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final tie.

Heung-Min Son scored the only goal of the match with a left-footed drive that went under goalkeeper Ederson and gave the North London club a slight advantage ahead of the return leg next week.

Harry Kane was an unfortunate causality in the game after he limped off injured and fans are nervously waiting an injury update on his ankle.

But he was replaced by Moura in the 58th minute and he made a positive contribution.

The 26-year-old attacker injected lightning pace and quick dribbling to give the hosts a different question to pose Manchester City.

Ex-Spurs midfielder and now pundit Murphy believes he needs special credit for his contribution from the bench, while he feels the possibility of losing to Kane for an extended period of time wouldn’t be a complete catastrophe.

“I actually think Lucas Moura deserves credit. He was great when he came on, he’s a talented player,” Murphy said on The Debate, as cited by Sky Sports Football Youtube’s account.

“Although it’s a disappointment and let’s hope Kane is okay, you don’t see a Tottenham side turning up at City leg and thinking they don’t have a chance just because Kane’s not playing.”

TBR’s View:

Moura has had a mixed season for Spurs, scoring nine goals in 39 games across all competitions.

The Brazilian was superb in the early stages of the campaign, but hasn’t quite been on top of his game this calendar year and is searching for consistency.

He could be desperately needed by manager Mauricio Pochettino depending on the extent of Kane’s injury and he’s proven he can make a serious impact.

Moura has the qualities to play in a central or wide attacking role, where he possesses the kind of pace and directness that defenders hate.