Tottenham vs LASK: Debutant Carlos Vinicius can do better, thinks Jose Mourinho

Tottenham Hotspur started their 2020-21 UEFA Europa League campaign with a 3-0 victory against LASK on Thursday. The game saw Gareth Bale starting for the Spurs for the first time since his return to the Premier League side from Real Madrid. However, the Welshman had a quiet start.

On the other hand, Carlos Vinicius made an impressive debut for the hosts, as he set up two of the three goals that the Spurs scored on Thursday.

Spurs manager Jose Mourinho believes that Vinicius has the capability to play in attack alongside Harry Kane, instead of just being the latter's stand-in.

The 25-year-old Portuguese player was brought to Tottenham from Benfica on loan. He didn't take long to impress his boss, as he set up the home side's first goal that Lucas Moura scored in the 18th minute. Later he set up yet another opportunity that Son Heung-min converted into Spurs' third in the 84th minute.

Vinicius himself could have scored a goal, but Bale's low ball from the right-wing eventually found LASK left-back Andres Andrade on its way.

Bale made his first appearance for Tottenham earlier this week against West Ham United when he was called in as a substitute. And now, against the Austrian side, the 31-year old Welshman played over an hour without being able to put the ball in the back of the net. However, he did contribute to his side's second goal.

The Welsh forward came to London on loan from Real Madrid. On Thursday, in the 27th minute, he collected a pass from Erik Lamela and directed a low cross towards the opponents' box, which defender Andrade turned into an own goal.

According to BBC, Mourinho said, "He played well but can do better. Considering the circumstances and that it was his first match, I'm really happy. The only thing that was missing was one goal, but he's much more than that. He's not selfish and is a good target man. He can play with Kane when his good period arrives and won't just be the guy to cover him. I am very happy."

Tottenham has now won 11 of their last 12 Europa League group stage games at home. This season so far, the Spurs scored 31 goals across all competitions, which is five more than any other Premier League club.