Rio Ferdinand hails Serge Aurier’s instant improvement under Jose Mourinho

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Tottenham right back Serge Aurier was one of the worst performances during the late stages of Mauricio Pochettino’s reign.

But he has started both of Jose Mourinho’s first games in charge of Spurs and netted the crucial third goal in a comeback victory over Olympiacos last night.

That win sealed Tottenham’s passage into the knockout rounds of the Champions League and on BT Sport, via the Daily Mail, Rio Ferdinand was keen to praise how the Ivorian has transformed under Mourinho already.

He said: “When a new manager comes in there’s sometimes one player who benefits, at the moment it’s him. He was someone we were talking about as a car crash but he’s stepped up.”

TBR’s View – Mourinho’s tactical setup masking Aurier’s flaws

Aurier cannot be trusted defensively, so Mourinho’s approach has been to push him right up as an attacking weapon, tucking either Ben Davies or Danny Rose into a narrow left back role to cover on the other side.

That means he can rush forward with abandon and get involved like he did in the second and third goals last night.

Mourinho will likely be on the lookout for a more robust right back in coming transfer windows, but for now, he has energised Aurier.