Dele Alli and Kevin Wimmer React to Tottenham’s Win
Following Tottenham’s 4-1 win over Watford, Dele Alli and Kevin Wimmer both gave their input on the team’s performance from an offensive and defensive viewpoint.
Dele Alli’s brace against Watford has given him eight goals on the year. His fifth goal in his last three appearances and two shy of matching his tally last season.
It’s a sign that the precocious 20-year-old is returning to the heights of his Premier League debut campaign with Tottenham. A season in which Alli contributed to 19 total goals in 33 matches — 10 goals and nine assists.
Speaking with Spurs’ official website, while the goals are nice to have, getting a win is more important as it sees the north London club sitting in fourth place to start the new year.
“It’s always nice to get the goals but I think the most important thing today is that we got the win.” Alli said. “We’ve started the year off well and continued our good form.”
“It was great, a fantastic result. The fans were fantastic today, they never stopped singing and it was great that we could repay them and start the year with a win.”
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Through 51 Premier League appearances, Alli has already tallied 18 goals, 10 last year and eight in just 19 matches so far.
Though his production now wasn’t always like this. Earlier in the season there was a brief stretch of a sophomore slump.
Teams were marking Dele Alli tightly after he contributed to 19 total goals last term. The combination of Harry Kane at striker and Dele Alli in the number 10 spot a year ago had proved very lethal, so it came as no surprise that Alli was rendered ineffective to begin the 2016-17 campaign.
With clubs zeroing in on the young midfielder, his production would quickly fall off making him unable to affect games like he used to.
It didn’t help that the rest of the squad had suffered from a lack of rest and pre-season with the Euros happening during the summer.
Overall, the team’s performances weren’t up to standards despite a respectable record after the first two months (four wins and two draws).
Over time though, a string of goals got Alli going before a minor knee injury once again prohibited the England international from reaching last season’s form.
Only now, has Dele Alli returned to the stage that caught everyone by surprise where the 20-year-old was producing fine performances one after another.
With Spurs recording back-to-back 4-1 wins in the Premier League, Alli talked about how their offense is starting to click. Eight goals in two games is an impressive feat regardless of the opposition that Tottenham faced.
“We’ve got some fantastic players in this team and everyone works hard for each other which is important – not only in our attacking, we all work hard defensively as well.” Dele Alli explained.
“The manager has got that into us and no one takes anything for granted. When you’re in this team you know you’re going to get chances and it’s just down to you to put them away.”
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“We’re in good form and we’ve got good confidence. It’s a good atmosphere in the changing room and this is an important win for us and for our mentality going into the next match [versus Chelsea] because it’s a massive game for us and it’s important that we win it.”
Asked on his thoughts about getting back into the top four to begin the new year, Alli spoke of how he and his teammates wanted to give back to the fans for their immense support week-in and week-out.
“It’s always nice to be up there in the top four and we want to keep building on it and get even higher up the league. The fans deserve it, they’ve been fantastic all season and we’re going to keep fighting for them.”
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With Dele Alli talking about Tottenham’s offensive prowess in recent games, dating back to the beginning of December, Kevin Wimmer looked at another key aspect that has helped Spurs lately: their mentality and depth on the squad.
Winning games will give players and coaches a huge confidence booster to take with them into the next match. It’s a snowball effect that continues to grow the more wins that keep getting piled on.
After extending their winning streak to four straight matches, Wimmer who was starting in place of the suspended Jan Vertonghen described how he and fellow backup Kieran Trippier came into the match and put their stamp on a fine defensive performance to ensure Spurs left Vicarage Road with all three points.
“It’s a great way to start the New Year. It’s a difficult ground to come to but we started well.” Wimmer began. “We said before the game that it was an important game and we needed the three points.”
“We did very well, especially in the second half when we kept going and scored the fourth [goal] immediately, then we kept possession. We dominated the 90 minutes and can be very happy with the performance.”
“The fans and the support was amazing, it felt like a home game. Especially for me, it’s a nice feeling to win this game and start the year like this.”
“The mentality in the squad is very good. Everybody likes each other very well and we always have fun together in training.” Kevin Wimmer continued. “Of course there are some players who play more regularly than some other ones but there are so many games that you always know that you have to be ready.”
Next: Tottenham's Star Hitched to Dele Alli Once Again
“Today, it was Trips [Kieran Trippier] and me and we gave our best – I think it was a very good game from the whole team and the whole squad. It’s not just the starting XI – we all have a great mentality.”
“I like all the players, we always have fun together and that’s the most important thing because if you’re enjoying your football then you will play well. You can have a laugh with everybody and it’s a nice feeling to be part of this team.”