Spurs fans enjoy star’s return despite 2-1 loss to Leicester

Erik Lamela made his long-awaited return to first-team action on Tuesday night as Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 2-1 at Leicester City in the Premier League.

The Argentine has been absent for over a year with a hip problem but impressed in a late cameo at the King Power Stadium, marking his display with an assist.

Having been on the pitch for a matter of minutes, Lamela slipped in England striker Harry Kane to emphatically convert the final goal of a game that left the watching Spurs faithful frustrated by a number of missed opportunities.

The Lilywhites have hit a poor run of domestic form over recent weeks, with defeat to rivals Arsenal followed by a draw at Wembley against West Bromwich Albion over the weekend.

With that in mind it was imperative that Mauricio Pochettino’s men came away from Leicester with a win, but they were left to reflect on another disjointed performance and a severe lack of clinical finishing.

Jamie Vardy gave the Foxes the lead early on, latching onto Marc Albrighton’s cross to lift a delightful first-time lob over the onrushing Hugo Lloris.

Then, with half-time looming, Riyad Mahrez curled in an unstoppable left-footed effort from the edge of the area to give the home side a two-goal advantage at the break.

Kane’s late strike came in between gilt-edged opportunities for Christian Eriksen and Fernando Llorente, who both contrived to miss the target when presented with the ball inside Leicester’s six-yard box.

Overall it was another disappointing watch for Tottenham fans, who have seen their team’s slim title hopes all but extinguished over the past few weeks.

The one bright spark was Lamela’s cameo, which left many supporters on Twitter calling for the winger to be amongst the starting XI when the North Londoners travel to Watford on Saturday afternoon.

The best of the reaction can be found below:

https://twitter.com/benspurs21/status/935822150572879873

https://twitter.com/Brother_Marlon/status/935781553480912897

https://twitter.com/BlueSpur86/status/935654370242265089

https://twitter.com/CallumCOYS/status/935642432615657477