Lucas Moura insists there’s ‘no time to cry’ as Tottenham look for their first win against a top-half team since November.
The 2-0 victory over Manchester City back then was quite the performance from Jose Mourinho’s men, one which took them to the top of the Premier League.
And when Spurs won the north London derby against Arsenal by the same result a couple of week’s later, everything was rosy in their garden.
But if that period was full of sunshine, the one they find themselves in now couldn’t be much stormier with a 2-1 defeat by Arsenal last weekend followed by a crushing exit from the Europa League at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday.
Those results mean there is huge importance on today’s clash against Aston Villa for Spurs given whatever poor result could do to their confidence for the run-in.
Moura said: “It’s hard to say why we haven’t beaten a top-half side since November.
(Image: ANTONIO BAT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
“What I can say is that the three games we played before Arsenal, we did really well — nine points and played very well.
“I don’t know what happened against Arsenal, that we decided to change.
“We didn’t play at our level and there is no excuse, there are no words to explain.
“But we are capable of beating these kind of teams.
“We are much better than what we did against Arsenal.
(Image: REUTERS)
“Now we need to do differently against Aston Villa.
“We need to go there and show that we are capable of fighting for the Champions League.”
Speaking specifically about their last Premier League outing, Moura added: “Of course we are all disappointed about the game and frustrated because we could have done much much better.
“We didn’t play at our level. We were too passive in the game — no intensity, no aggression.
“We are aware that we can do much better.
“But now that’s in the past, we don’t have time to cry, we need to look forward.”
The emergence of Villa, Everton and West Ham as European contenders this season has added to the competition in the top flight.
And Moura, who arrived at Tottenham in January 2018, said: “Since I have been here in the Premier League, it’s the most difficult season.
“And the most different season, because we don’t have fans because of the situation.
“The fight for the top four, for the Champions League, is so tight.
“We have 10 games to play. We are capable of qualifying, but we need to think game by game, step by step, and do the job we were doing well before the Arsenal game.”
The one positive for Spurs today is that Villa are without Jack Grealish.
(Image: Getty Images)
Moura added: “He has amazing skills. He’s an amazing player. If he plays, it is good news for them and bad news for us.
“He is an amazing player, one of the best in the league.
“I like the way he plays, he looks like a Brazilian player.
“He can dribble very well, it is very good to watch players like this.
“They have a good squad, they have other very good players. We need to be careful.
“We need to go there ready to fight with the mentality that they have great players and are fighting for the Champions League as well.”
Sign up to the Mirror Football email here for the latest news and transfer gossip
