Things for Tottenham to Like Beyond the Bike from Dele Alli

Dele Alli again showed in Europa League that he has some tools in his cabinet that maybe others do not in his man of the match performance Wednesday against Wolfsberger. While the competition was what it was, there is no doubting that Dele Alli is beginning to get his form back and not a second too soon for Tottenham Hotspur.

Dele is Finding Room to Operate

One of Dele’s best traits is his ability to make timely runs into the box. We have seen recently from Dele Alli, that timeliness on a football pitch can be more than making a run. Last week at one point during the match the announcer remarked at how much space Dele had created for himself by not moving at all.

Tottenham need heady, smart, footballers and Dele Alli certainly is one of them. This ability to find some space was particularly true on the assist to Vinicius. The space Dele ended up occupying is an area Spurs have not gotten enough production from since Christian Eriksen left, which is from a deeper wide position.

Dele Alli actually was deeper than Ben Davies who had pushed up the flank, create a pocket of space where an outside midfielder might operate. Eriksen is one person who was particularly adept at finding that space. In today’s Premier League Kevin De Bruyne is especially good at finding that space as are the Liverpool fullbacks.

There were times when Dele made runs, there were times when Dele just stood, but all of it was with the idea of getting the room he needs to play with the ball. Dele’s ability to create some space in intelligent ways on the pitch will help this team moving forward.

Dele is showing the right attitude

One of the complaints we have had about Dele Alli over the last couple of seasons has been his attitude on the pitch. Whether it is with the referee for calls he is not getting or with players not doing what he thinks they should at times Dele gets a bit too petulant on the pitch. We did not see much of either on Wednesday in the second Wolfsberger match.

Last week in the first leg, Dele was going down a bit too easily and was looking to the referee to bail him out. This week, Dele was keeping his feet and making the plays.

Additionally, there were several instances where one could understand Dele being upset with his teammates and let them know about it. Whether it was someone not helping enough with the press, making the right decision with the ball, or making the run to meet Dele’s pass, he kept his emotions in check.

Being emotional and having a bit of edge is part of what makes Dele Alli, Dele Alli. When he can take those feelings and channel them into his play and performance on the pitch, that is the Dele Alli we love and Tottenham Hotspur desperately need.

Dele celebrated at the right time for Tottenham

Dele Alli scored the opening goal in incredible fashion, yet just jogged over toward the camera and flashed a big smile and a peace sign. It really was an incredible goal and likely deserved some more emotion, but Dele just saw it as another in a string of goals.

Then Dele delivered a pinpoint perfect pass to the head of Carlos Vinicius for Spurs second goal. While Carlos did he trademark celebration Dele slowly moved toward the Brazilian to celebrate with him. He flashed a small smile as they embraced and then just went back to midfield.

However that second assist led to a markedly different response. As Carlos Vinicius flashed and opened the space for Dele to play the ball into the path of Gareth Bale, you could see the joy overcoming Dele Alli. As Bale smashed the ball into the net in vintage fashion and went to celebrate, here came Dele Alli.

Dele may have sprinted faster to get to Bale than at any point in the match he dominated as his excitement for setting up the Welshman was clear for all to see. As Dele jumped into Bale’s arms as if they had won the World Cup, you could tell how important it was to him, to Bale, and the team that the the Spurs legend got that goal.

The assist and celebration capped a day where Dele dominated most of the big events. The ability to intelligently find space, use the ball, and occasionally do something incredible are part of what makes Dele Alli special. Now he just needs to build on that special in the week and take it the weekends as Tottenham have a chance to get their season on track. If they are going to, Dele Alli is likely to be a big part.