Jose Mourinho acknowledged Tottenham s 4-1 win over Wolfsberger was not incredible , but insisted it will bring positivity to his squad.
Son Heung-min, Gareth Bale, Lucas Moura and Carlos Vinicius scored in an ultimately routine win in Budapest on Thursday, as Spurs took a huge stride towards reaching the last 16 of the Europa League.
Michael Liendl s 55th-minute penalty complicated matters slightly for Mourinho, but his side were comfortable as they earned just a second win in their last seven games across all competitions.
With a London derby up against West Ham next up for Spurs, Mourinho – who has been eliminated from just one of his 17 previous European knockout ties when winning the first leg, going out in the 2006-07 Champions League semi-final against Liverpool – conceded the performance was not perfect, but believes the victory provides a much-needed boost.
We had to come and play with ambition which we did. The score should have been more than 3-0 at half-time, Mourinho told reporters.
In the second half we made that mistake that gave them life. There were some similarities with [the FA Cup tie with] Everton.
If you re in control and make a mistake you give the opposition life and the game can change – here it didn t change, but the 3-2 was not far from happening.
We had good control of the game. Lots of chances. I believe the last goal put almost a period on this tie. 4-1 away is a very good result.
I don t consider this an incredible victory, just a good victory that brings good feelings. By flying back, the plane will be a different plane than after a defeat. Tomorrow morning in training, the same.
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Bale turned in an impressive display in the first half, setting up Son s opener before arrowing in Spurs second himself.
The Wales forward s five goals this season have all been at different stadiums – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Linzer Stadion, bet365 Stadium, Adams Park and Puskas Arena – while it was the first time the 31-year-old has both scored and assisted in a game for Spurs since April 2013.
Son, meanwhile, moved onto 18 goals for the season in total with his opener, matching his tally from last season in all competitions, and the South Korea star, who has enjoyed a supreme relationship with Harry Kane this season, revelled in playing alongside an in-form Bale.
I have a really close relationship with him, Son said.
I m very happy he s getting game time and scored a goal and got an assist. I really enjoy playing with him.
