Mourinho praises Lamela impact for Spurs after a lack of training
Tottenham Hotspur's Erik Lamela appears dejected after the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London. - Credit: PA
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Jose Mourinho heaped praise on the impact of Erik Lamela despite not even training with the squad ahead of their clash with RB Leipzig.
The Argentine came off the bench in the 65th minute to replace Gedson Fernandes in their 1-0 defeat of the first leg in the Champions League knock-out stages.
And the boss was pleased with the 27-year-old who has struggled all month with a thigh injury that has kept him out of the line-up.
"Lamela didn't train once. Lamela didn't train once with the team. He did the warm-up yesterday for the open session for the cameras to look at him and get him.
"He didn't train one single time with the team. That is the player that you saw play the last 20 minutes like he did."
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The boss then added praise for both Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn who currently serve as his only two attack minded players with Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son both out injured long-term.
"Lucas (Moura) and (Steven) Bergwijn what you saw in the end, two very tired players.
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"Two players who gave absolutely everything. Two days ago when we played at Villa and now.
"We are the only ones who now have to play the next game on Saturday morning.
"The thing that keeps me confident is the spirit, the mentality of my players.
"It's what they are, not just as players, but especially what they are as guys, as a group."
