Tottenham Hotspur beat Middlesbrough 2-1 to progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup, where they will play Southampton. In a hard-fought match, Jose Mourinho’s side battled well with Argentinian duo Giovani Lo Celso and Erik Lamela pulling the strings. The latter of the pair was particularly impressive, grabbing what would be the winning goal after 15 minutes.
But Lamela’s contribution went a lot further than finding the back of the net. Despite playing on the left side of an attacking midfield three, the Argentinian made four tackles. No Spurs player dispossessed an opponent more often than Lamela, and it is a testament to his outstanding work rate, something that will not have gone unnoticed by Mourinho.
With the ball at his feet, Lamela executed laser-like precision to ensure he retained possession with 89.5 per cent of his 57 passes. All three of Lamela’s through balls found a fellow Spurs player, as the Argentinian clinically dissected the Middlesbrough defence. Further evidence of Lamela’s surgical precision came from playing two key passes, bettered only by teammate Lo Celso’s three.
Spurs’ Argentinian playmaker let his quality be known by taking on the most shots of anyone on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium turf. Though only one of Lamela’s three efforts hit the target, that was all he needed to beat Tomas Mejias between the opposition sticks. Furthermore, the 27-year-old dribbled around two of Middlesbrough’s defenders, showing he has the close control and trickery to get past opposition players trying to stop him. Lamela was also fouled once, as Middlesbrough struggled to contain Spurs’ most potent attacking threat.
What will have particularly impressed manager Mourinho is that Lamela was not once caught offside showing he had the awareness to time his run in behind striker Lucas Moura. Furthermore, Lamela was not dispossessed by any opposition player once, nor did he make a single unsuccessful touch. Overall it was an incredibly mature performance, where the Argentinian playmaker consistently appeared to be in control, dictating proceedings around him. His eye-catching display in challenging circumstances will have given Mourinho food for thought and possibly earnt Lamela more first-team action.
