Tottenham’s Dele Alli Wanted to Make Amends After Gent Match
Dele Alli spoke about how his red card hurt him and Tottenham in the Europa League, but that he made up for it after helping Spurs beat Stoke on Sunday.
Following his sending off in the 39th minute against Gent four days ago, Dele Alli spoke to Tottenham’s official website to say that his performance yesterday (he scored a goal) was to make up for what had transpired last week.
Alli wanted to make amends after Spurs were eliminated from the Europa League, but for also picking up a red card after a rash challenge that did deserve to see him get sent off.
"“It’s been a difficult week for me but the Club has shown me a lot of support,” Dele Alli said.“I felt horrible straight after that game [against KAA Gent], not just going out of the competition, but also doing that to the team.”“I felt sorry and apologised to the team at half-time, as soon as it happened.”“I felt horrible and I wanted to bounce back and help the team as much as I could and most importantly, we got the win [against Stoke].”"
Related Story: Dele Alli Wins January Player of the Month Award
This is yet another lesson learned for the young midfielder. Like his last term’s three-match ban for punching West Brom’s Claudio Yacob who had instigated the incident. With Alli eventually retaliating — which wasn’t a smart move on his part.
That said, although it’s easy to watch from afar and think that footballers should be smart and do the right thing, if they’re felt hard done by, it’s not surprising to see them lash out.
Especially if someone gets taken out with a hard challenge but there’s no repercussion like a foul or yellow card given.
As talented as Dele Alli is, he’s still just 20-years-old. And at his age, there will be times where he will make irrational decisions in the heat of the moment.
More from Match Reports
- From glory, glory to gory, gory, for Mason and Tottenham Hotspur
- Ryan Mason’s Elegant Solution to Tottenham’s Problems
- Tottenham – Defensive needs show over last two games
- Tottenham Hotspur hold off Brighton in much needed 2-1 win
- Mason moves make the difference for lucky Tottenham against Brighton
Last Thursday and all the other minor incidents last season when he was still 19, are proof that Alli isn’t immune to getting wound up a bit too easily.
Should these incidents continue — which is very likely — what matters more is what happens in the end. After said incidents sees Alli look like the “bad guy” for lashing out.
Will Dele Alli learn from these experiences?
So far, after his suspension at the tail end of last season, Alli did in fact learn. He kept his cool and didn’t commit any bookable offence that will effectively see him get suspended.
Not until recently during the Europa League that is. Though the red card won’t have any effect domestically as Spurs are out of Europe now. So it’s basically a moot point.
Strictly speaking, so long as there is a support system that Alli can lean on, he’ll be fine. And that’s something that he mentioned.
That as a team, he has players and coaches to consult with during tough times. Such as the red card that he picked up after a terrible challenge.
Next: Tottenham Rout Stoke 4-0 Again
"“We all back each other, we all help each other as much as we can,” Alli added.“It was important for me that I bounced back and helped the team as much as I could. I felt everyone played well and it was important to do that for the fans as well.”"