Lucas Moura Tells Spurs To Replicate Etihad Spirit

By Joshua Walters 

Tottenham Hotspur forward Lucas Moura has told his side to repeat the feat they showed against Manchester City at the Etihad stadium in the quarter-final if they want to qualify over Ajax.

The Premier League side were beaten 1-0 in the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium by the Eredivisie side, with Donny van de Beek’s first-half strike giving them the advantage going into the second leg. 

The Lily Whites have however, been at the centre late drama in this season’s competition as they escaped the group stage with goals in the last ten minutes against PSV, Inter Milan and Barcelona.

Tottenham were staring at a quarter-final exit against City, trailing 4-3 aggregate with just 17 minutes left in the second leg only for Fernando Llorente's goal and Raheem Sterling's disallowed late effort to see them through.

Ajax will host Mauricio Pochettino's side at the Johan Cruyff Arena in the second leg on May 8. 

"The spirit against City was amazing, unbelievable. We need to play like that in Amsterdam.

"We went to the Etihad and played a very good game against City. We were strong mentally.

"Now we need to do the same: run, fight.

"I believe in my team-mates. Let's rest well now, prepare for the next game and believe always."

Lucas Moura has played thirty Premier league games scoring ten goals aside his two goals in ten Champions League appearances.

The Brazilian forward joined Tottenham from French giants Paris Saint Germain in January 2018 having signed a five-and-a-half year contract until 2023 for a transfer fee of around £25 million.