This archive report was first published on 21 July 2019.
Published on July 21, 2019, by AFP.
Tottenham forward Lucas Moura has spoken out about his Champions League final snub, insisting he respects the decision of his coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Lucas Moura, who scored a dramatic hat-trick in Spurs' stunning semi-final comeback at Ajax, was left on the bench for the final against Liverpool in Madrid.
"I need to respect the decision of the coach and respect my team-mates, so no problem with this," Lucas said.
Despite being dropped, Lucas Moura eventually came on in the 66th minute, but was unable to prevent Tottenham slipping to a 2-0 defeat.
"Of course it was difficult because every player wants to play. But it was even more to lose the game," Lucas was quoted as saying.
Lucas Moura, who signed from Paris Saint Germain in January 2018, believes Tottenham can use the frustration of losing out to Liverpool as motivation to fuel a trophy-winning season in the forthcoming campaign.
"I really think we could do better, could win this trophy. We had the quality for this," he said.
Lucas Moura and Tottenham face Juventus in a pre-season friendly in Singapore on Sunday, before opening their Premier League campaign at home against Aston Villa on August 10.
