Dele Alli asses his performances
Dele Alli has had a quite spectacular fall from grace over the last few years.
The 25-year-old was once one of the brightest English talents in football and looked set for a superb career.
However, over the last two or so years, Alli’s form has fallen off a cliff. It started at the back end of Mauricio Pochettino’s reign and, barring a brief upturn right as Jose Mourinho took over, continued all the way through the Portuguese’s stint as well.
Granted, Mourinho did often bench Alli so he didn’t get much of a chance to prove himself.
But at the back end of last season when Mourinho was gone and this term under Nuno Espirito Santo, Alli has once again not shown anywhere near his best.
And now, speaking after Tottenham’s loss to Chelsea, Alli has offered an assessment of his own performances.
“I am not happy with my own performances, I know that I have to perform better and I owe that to our supporters too.”
Alli at fault for Silva opener
Alli would also take responsibility for Chelsea’s opening goal on Sunday.
The first 45 was a fairly even matchup, but the tie turned on its head once Thiago Silva scored 50 minutes in.
And Alli has come out to state that he needs to take responsibility as the Brazilian was his man:
“It was tough. First half we played well and at half-time we were confident and we had a lot of belief.
“Once we went 1-0 down to a sloppy goal – and for me, it was my man so I need to take responsibility for that – it’s a bit of a mountain against a team like this.
“It could have gone either way in the fist half, but if you don’t punish them you can be punished and that is what happened today.
“Those small margins and opportunities make the difference. We could have been walking away from here today with the three points and a great performance. We started the game very well and at half time we were happy with ourselves. We felt like we were in control.
“I don’t think the result was fair, but in the end we have to take it and move on. There are positive to take, but we are not happy with the 3-0.”