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This article is part of Football FanCast's In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets...

Mauricio Pochettino sprung a surprise upon us all with his team selection an hour before Tottenham's game at the Etihad kicked off on Saturday.

The Argentine decided to make one change, bringing in Christian Eriksen - the man who helped get the three points against Aston Villa - for Lucas Moura, a man who always seems to have his say on the big occasion.

Some Spurs fans praised Eriksen's impact against Villa and we detailed why the Denmark international earned a start against the Citizens, but for Lucas to be the man to drop out makes no sense.

The Brazilian has developed a knack for popping up in big games, finding the back of the net away to Barcelona and at Anfield, whilst also scoring twice away to Manchester United last season - we should probably also mention the hat-trick away to Ajax in the Champions League semi-final.

The former Paris Saint-Germain man doesn't disappoint in big games, and Pochettino was made to look rather foolish by the 27-year-old as he netted just 19.06 seconds after coming on as a substitute in the second half - that wasn't all he did, however.

In just 35 minutes on the field, Lucas also managed to complete three dribbles and won three aerial duels, proving to have a real impact on the game as he earned Spurs a vital point against the back-to-back champions.

As aforesaid, with huge goals away to Barcelona, Ajax, Liverpool and Manchester United already under his belt before his header at the Etihad, thinking about dropping Lucas shouldn't even be entering Pochettino's mind anymore before big games.

How he was dropped for the Champions League final after practically getting Spurs there remains a ludicrous mystery, and Pochettino was made to think 'what if' on that particular occasion without the Brazil international.

In future headline fixtures, however, the Spurs boss cannot be left thinking 'what if I had started Lucas'.

The diminutive, resilient forward simply must start these types of games from now on - what more can he do?

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