Tottenham Hotspur's focus on the Europa League was plastered all over Ange Postecoglou's team selection against Aston Villa on Friday.
Spurs were beaten 2-0 at Villa Park in their last Premier League match before the Europa League final against Manchester United in Bilbao and showed little inclination to put up a fight once they went behind.
Postecoglou, like United head coach Ruben Amorim, has made no secret of the fact that the European final is his top priority, with the two worst teams outside the relegation zone using Premier League fixtures to get minutes into the legs of some players and as opportunities to rest or protect others.
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Nevertheless, Spurs got an injury scare at Villa Park when one player who would be in contention for a start in Bilbao appeared to limp off the pitch and head straight down the tunnel after being substituted.
Midfielder Pape Matar Sarr looked uncomfortable as he was replaced by Yves Bissouma early in the second half and Postecoglou clarified the situation in his post-match press conference at Villa Park.
"Pape felt something in his back so we took him off as a bit of a precaution," said the Spurs boss.
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"I don’t think it’s anything too significant speaking to him afterwards but he just felt something in his back."
There was also a question mark over 17-year-old Mikey Moore, who had to be substituted late in the game.
Postecoglou added: "I think Mikey was okay. It was fatigue as much as anything else. He hasn’t played that sort of amount of minutes before."
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The manager also discussed the performance of captain Son Heung-min, who started against Villa and looked sharp in the first half despite a lack of recent playing time after an injury.
"Getting Sonny back at least gives us another experienced player. I think the last two or three fixtures our average age has been three or four years younger than the opposition. You can see that at times so just having another experienced player available is great for the team," he said.
Spurs can now turn their attention fully to Wednesday's Europa League final, where they will face a Man Utd side beaten by Chelsea on Friday.
Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Europa League, Premier League, Ange Postecoglou
Chris Nee