It started with one… and then turned seven. Seven to zero. Tottenham have done what the fans hoped for – or even a little more – and destroyed Tranmere Rovers of the Fourth Division to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday, on an away match. The Spaniard Llorente was the highlight of the match with three goals. Aurier made two (being one of them an amazing goal from outside the box), while Son a Kane completed the scorer.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino took advantage of the fragile opponent and the heavy sequence of games of the English Championship – the Premier League – to rotate the team and put different players on the pitch. Llorente, who has only been a starter one time in the season, took the opportunity and took the ball home after the hat-trick.
Important players like Eriksen and Alderweireld, for example, did not leave the bench, while Kane played the final 15 minutes and still left his mark (like always).
The Brazilian Lucas Moura, who is expected to be a started soon because Heung-min Son playing the Asian Cup with South Korea, played the 90 minutes and gave the assist to Llorente’s third goal – the sixth of the Spurs. The rival of the next phase will be known through the draw.
Tottenham will come back to the pitch on Tuesday when they will host Chelsea in the first leg of the English League Cup semi-final. A match in which the first squad will probably be used, which means Fernando Llorente won’t play, because it is very difficult to beat Harry Kane. But, at least, he showed Pochettino that, if he wants to give a rest to his number 9 (and top scorer), he is there to help.