Both Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur picked up much-needed wins after a run of questionable form with victories over the weekend in the Premier League. Leeds ended a three-year wait for a win in London, while Tottenham professionally dispatched of Aston Villa at Villa Park – and both Lucas Moura and Raphinha have conversed on Instagram.
Raphinha, 24, continues to enjoy his first season in English football – taking his goal involvements to 11 on Friday night as he scored his sixth of the season, poking the winner past Alphonse Areola to beat Fulham 2-1. It was an important win for Leeds, who had previously won just one of the previous six Premier League matches.
Patrick Bamford had put Leeds ahead with his 14th of the season, reminding Gareth Southgate why he should have been picked over Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins – who was a shadow during Villa’s 2-0 defeat on Sunday to Lucas Moura’s Tottenham. Like Raphinha, Moura was excellent during the victory as Jose Mourinho’s side climbed into sixth place.
Spurs came into the match having lost a North London derby to Arsenal and then suffering a Europa League exit – losing to Dinamo Zagreb in a match that Mourinho stated will haunt him for years to come. Moura created the first for another Brazilian – Carlos Vinicius – before Harry Kane won and scored a penalty. Moura posted on Instagram after the win.
While Moura and Raphinha have never shared the pitch, they have followed similar paths in terms of careers. Starting off in Brazilian football, given their nationalities – they have both enjoyed profitable spells in France before moving to England. Lucas went from Sao Paulo to PSG, before moving to Spurs while Raphinha joined Leeds from Rennes.
They spoke to eachother in the comments section on Moura’s Instagram, with Lucas celebrating that he had played 150 times in all competitions for Spurs since joining the club in January 2018. Raphinha commented: “Congratulations on the 150 games brother, you are a monster,” to which Moura replied: “Thanks bro, we’re together. Continue in the footsteps, you are doing well.”
