Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou believes that Richarlison was rewarded for his endeavours behind-the-scenes as the Brazilian inspired Spurs to a thrilling 2-1 comeback win over Sheffield United.
The former Everton striker - whose Tottenham career has been a largely forgettable affair so far - recently opened up on problems off the field he has been suffering from for a number of months, which he plans to seek psychological help for.
Richarlison lifted the lid on his struggles after breaking down in tears while being substituted in Brazil's World Cup qualifying win over Bolivia, leading to an outpouring of support from the footballing community.
The 26-year-old was only considered for a spot on the bench against Sheffield United, as Postecoglou stuck with the same XI from their 5-2 win over Burnley two weeks ago, but a wasteful Spurs could not find a way past the impenetrable Wes Foderingham in the Blades goal.
Postecoglou's unbeaten start to life in the Tottenham hotseat was in jeopardy when Gustavo Hamer broke the deadlock in the 73rd minute, but Richarlison came off the bench to spark a phenomenal turnaround in added time.
In the eighth minute of added time, Richarlison netted his first Premier League home goal for Tottenham - rising highest to meet Ivan Perisic's corner - before teeing up Dejan Kulusevski to complete a sensational fightback with seconds remaining.
On the back of an emotional couple of weeks for the striker, Postecoglou hopes that his crucial contributions at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can help him to navigate through his difficult moments away from the pitch.
"Yeah Richy was great. I thought all the subs who came on really helped. But that's been a consistent theme," football.london quotes Postecoglou as saying in his post-game press conference.
"And yeah for Richy I think it's the point I was trying to make yesterday - for him to understand that you try and maintain a balance in life. And his football hasn't been that bad, he's still been contributing for us.
"Sometimes when you struggle with certain parts of your life you let it go into other areas. But the football is one area where he can control, and he works hard everyday in training and really got his rewards today.
"And hopefully that gives him a bit more of a settled feel to deal with the other areas in his life. For everyone, it's about not letting it overwhelm you. And hopefully a day like today helps him."
Richarlison's 98th-minute goal and 100th-minute assist helped Tottenham achieve the latest winning comeback in Premier League history, 20 months on from when the Antonio Conte-led Lilywhites broke the record in their 3-2 victory over Leicester City thanks to Steven Bergwijn's 95th and 97th-minute efforts.
Tottenham's win also saw them move onto 13 points from their opening five games of the season - the first time they have posted such a tally since 1965 - and Postecoglou hailed the "bags" of resilience that his side displayed in the capital.
"Yeah, there was a fair bit going on out there today. A great ending, in terms of what we're trying to build, there's the football side of it but there's also trying to build the spirit and character and resilience within the group and they showed bags of it today," the 58-year-old added.
"Hopefully it gives us the opportunity to fuel that further. Every time you have to deal with adversity and you overcome it, I think it helps in what you're trying to grow."
Tottenham's latest triumph keeps them second in the Premier League table behind Manchester City, and next up is a trip to North London rivals Arsenal on September 24. body check tags ::
