Richarlison has questioned Antonio Conte's decision to start him on the bench in Tottenham's Champions League game against AC Milan following a selection U-turn. Starting in the recent games against West Ham, Chelsea and Sheffield United, the Brazilian was named as a substitute at Wolves last weekend and only entered the fray in the closing minutes of the 1-0 defeat.
However, he has claimed that he was told he would start in the crucial match at home to AC Milan providing that he passed a fitness test on the eve of the European encounter. Stating that he got no explanation for missing out on the starting XI and he is still waiting for one, the ex-Everton man has given an honest verdict on his start to life in N17, his lack of minutes in a Tottenham shirt and what he has vowed to do next.
"I didn't understand...I was playing well, we won against Chelsea and West Ham and suddenly I was on the bench. I played five minutes against Wolves, asked the reason and no-one told me why," claimed Brazil's No.9 in an interview with TNT Sports Brazil. "Yesterday they asked me to take a fitness test in the gym and told me I was going to start today if I passed it. And today I was on the bench, there are things I can't understand.
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"There was no explanation again, let's see what he will tell us tomorrow but I'm not silly, I'm a professional that works hard every day and I want to play. There hasn't been enough minutes given to me, this season - and forgive my language - has been (expletive).
"I don't have enough minutes, was injured for a bit, but when I'm on the pitch I give my life. I played well in two games, especially against Chelsea, so I think I should have played tonight, but I can't go on crying about it now."
He added: "We have around 15 games to play now and the focus is that. I'll try to score as many goals as I can because the club has paid a lot of money for me and I haven't given enough back on the pitch yet. Fair to say my injuries didn't help and I haven't had enough minutes. But now I'll go home, rest, train tomorrow and see if he'll put me in the first XI next game."
Tottenham missed a major opportunity to reach the last eight of the Champions League after failing to lay a glove on AC Milan in what was an incredibly meek performance. Richarlison knows they cannot serve up displays like that and now attention turns to Saturday's Premier League clash at home to Nottingham Forest.
"There is frustration, of course, we're out of the biggest club competition. We can't play like that needing to score...the team had to play more offensively especially in the second half," admitted the 25-year-old. "There's not a lot to say now, we can't go chasing someone to take the blame. Now there's only the Premier League to play, a training session tomorrow and a match against Forest in the next round."
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