The Conte era is well underway at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo as the man in charge, Conte has already overseen four matches. Slowly but surely Conte’s transformation of Tottenham has become more visible in recent weeks. It should be noted that Conte’s evolution of Spurs is still at a fledgling stage and that his tactical ideas might still need time to be fully realized. Nevertheless, Spurs have now started to resemble a team capable of holding on, absorbing the pressure, and biding their team, and can shift gears if required, a scenario that was evident in perhaps their highlight victory since Conte took over – a 2-1 win against Leeds.
In their victory over Leeds, Tottenham struggled in the first half and went behind before the break via a goal from Daniel James. But Conte’s halftime talks seemed to have done the trick, as Spurs looked like a different team after the break and produced a remarkable comeback win through goals from Hojbjerg and Regulion. It is also noteworthy that Tottenham outran Marcelo Bielsa’s side, a side that is known for their relentless work rate and pressing.
As is the case with any managerial changes, some players benefit while others are left sidelined. While Conte’s final starting XI might still undergo changes, his four matches in charge have provided an idea regarding the players that can be expected to feature regularly in his line-up.
Since joining Tottenham in 2018, Lucas Moura has been a key player amidst managerial changes. He is already under his fourth manager and has been a key player under all four of those bosses. Moura scored the second goal of the Conte era in Tottenham’s Europa Conference League victory over Vitesse and has been involved in all four games under Conte so far.
Let’s dive into Moura’s stats this season to understand the areas where he can improve under Conte
While much of the focus has been on how the attacking duo of Son and Kane will fare under Conte, Moura’s attacking contribution and creativity should not be understated. Moura is an adept striker of the ball and can produce the goods. His shooting accuracy was also noteworthy in his first full season at Tottenham where he scored ten goals in the Premier League. Since then, his shot accuracy has declined over three seasons. In the current season, his accuracy is well below the league median value at 39%. Conte has already displayed his acumen for transforming forwards and can definitely provide Moura with pointers.
In a recent interview, Moura was praiseworthy of the mentality that Conte is trying to instill in Tottenham players. He further remarked that training sessions have been tough and filled with high intensity, a trademark of Conte. Moura’s heatmap indicates the areas where he has been most active this season. He can definitely benefit from Conte’s high-intensity training sessions and improve his work rate even further.
Another area where Moura could further improve is his number of passes and though passes. A player of Moura’s creative and attacking caliber can give Conte’s side the edge during build-up and attacking phases. So far, he has joint seventh-highest successful through passes in the league.
Lucas Moura can definitely improve more under Conte as the season progresses. If his performances in four matches under Conte are any indication, more specifically his second-half performance in the win against Leeds, then he can surely transform his game and aid Tottenham in their upcoming matches.
