Jose Mourinho Compares Tottenham Hotspur Midfielder To Football Legend Zinedine Zidane

Tottenham Hotspurs’ Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg turned in an inspiring performance, playing a huge role in steering his team to a 3-nil win over LASK in the Europa League on Thursday.

Manager Jose Mourinho commended the midfielder for his contributions, comparing him to the legendary Zinedine Zidane who now serves as Real Madrid's head coach.

The comparison made by the Tottenham mentor was attributed to the bandage that was plastered on the head of Hojbjerg during the game, resembling Zidane’s signature look over a decade ago in the Champions League.

The 25-year-old suffered a gruesome gash due to an inadvertent collision of heads that required multiple stitches, according to a report by Goal.

"We were having a laugh at half-time, and we were all calling him Zidane. Very nice but don't do it again," Mourinho said in jest during the post-game interview.

The cut could have shelved him for the entirety of the fixture, but Hojbjerg chose to demonstrate his never-say-die attitude as he played for 62 minutes for the Hotspurs.

Transferring from Southampton, he signed with the Spurs back in August and has already donned the squad's royal blue hue for nine outings.

Though Hojbjerg is still familiarizing Tottenham's system, Mourinho sees good qualities in him.

"He's a very good player, a good leader, and a captain without the armband," he said of the player.

The Spurs easily took care of business as Lucas Moura drew first blood at the 18th minute. An own goal from LASK’s Andres Andrade then raised Tottenham's lead to two. Korean standout Heung-min Son hammered the final nail in the coffin to secure the flawless win.

Hojbjerg's fellow newcomer Gareth Bale also had an outstanding evening, debuting for the Spurs after being loaned from Real Madrid.

"We know these games are important. We went out there and did a great job. It wasn't our best performance, but we were solid, and [the] most important is the three points," Bale told BT Sport.

Their next trip to the pitch is an English Premier League contest against Burnley on Monday.