Europa League 2020: Carlos Vinicius nets brace as Jose Mourinho's Tottenham breeze past Ludogorets

Harry Winks scored from 56 yards out and Carlos Vinicius bagged a brace as Tottenham Hotspur claimed a comfortable 4-0 Europa League win over Ludogorets.

Jose Mourinho made no fewer than 10 changes to his side, with Tanguy Ndombele the only player to keep his place in the Spurs line up from the 2-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday.

It took the hosts just 17 minutes to open the scoring when Dele Alli’s pass through for Gareth Bale bounced into the path of Vinicius, with the Brazilian forward showing good composure to slide a low finish into the net.

Vinicius had a second goal in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt soon after, with Dele reacting quickest to a rebound from an Ndombele shot, selflessly squaring for the former Benfica forward to convert from close range.

Spurs took their foot off the pedal as the match became something of a training exercise, but still managed to add some gloss for the scoreline. Winks scored a third, lobbing the goalkeeper from 56 yards out, although it’s possible the midfielder was looking for the run of Bale rather than the back of the net.

Lucas Moura netted a fourth after 73 minutes, powering home a finish after being set up by countryman Vinicius inside the box. This result puts Tottenham on the brink of a last 32 place ahead of next week’s trip to Austria to face LASK.

Mourinho clearly had one eye on Sunday’s Premier League fixture away to Chelsea when he picked his team for this match and things couldn’t have panned out any better for the Spurs boss. The North London side managed to rest all of their key figures, including Harry Kane and Son Heung-min who watched the full 90 minutes from the bench, and claimed a comfortable victory that saw them conserve energy during the match. This was the perfect preparation for what could be a season-defining match for Tottenham this weekend.

Vinicius demonstrated why Mourinho took him to the club in the first half by putting on an impressive display as Kane’s deputy. The Brazilian is a different sort of centre forward to Kane, running in behind and playing on the shoulder of the last defender, but his link up play was sharp. The majority of Tottenham’s best attacking moves flowed through Vinicius. He also showed cutting edge in front of goal by bagging a brace.

Tottenham - Hart 5, Doherty 7, Sanchez 5, Tanganga 5, Davies 6, Winks 8, Ndombele 8, Dele 8, Moura 7, Bale 7, Vinicius 8. Subs - Hjobjerg 6, Whiteman 5, Scarlett 6, Clarke 6, White 5.

Ludogorets - Iliev 5, Ikoko 4, Verdon 5, Grigore 3, Nedyalkov 4, Anicet 5, Badji 5, Moti 4, Despodov 6, Keseru 3, Yankov 3. Subs - Tchibota 3, Tekpetey 3.

17’ GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Ludogorets: Tottenham have taken the lead and it's Vinicius who scores his first goal for the club! Dele's pass through bounced into the path of the Brazilian forward who showed good composure to roll a low finish into the back of the net.

34’ GOAL! Tottenham 2-0 Ludogorets: A second goal for Tottenham and a second goal for Vinicius! Ndombele's strike from distance was saved by Despodov, Dele was on hand to square the pass for the Brazilian forward and he finished into the empty net from close range!

63’ GOAL! Tottenham 3-0 Ludogorets: Did he mean that?! Winks has just scored a stunner from about 40 yards out, lobbing the goalkeeper and finding the back of the net off the underside of the crossbar! What a goal if he meant it! Spurs are now three goals to the good!

73’ GOAL! Tottenham 4-0 Ludogorets: This is so easy for Spurs now. Dele plays the pass into Vinicius, the Brazilian shows good presence of mind to set up his countryman for the shot and Moura buries his effort into the back of the Ludogorets net! Lovely goal, that.

Harry Winks’ goal came from a distance of 53.7 yards - only two Europa League goals have been scored from further out since the 2009/10 season.

Aged just 16 years and 247 days old, Dane Scarlett became the youngest player to ever represent Tottenham Hotspur in European competition.