What kept Dele Alli from being Tottenham player of old against Reds

Dele’s final touch let him down

Aside from his slightly errant final touch, Dele resembled his 2016-to-2018 former self.

It was clear Dele lacked sharpness and couldn’t quite find his clinical touch of old. His best opportunity came courtesy of an intelligent Son Heung-min pass. Allison made a fantastic reaction save, but the onus was on Dele to take Liverpool’s keeper completely out of the equation. One can argue that the Dele of old would have had the creativity, gumption, even the arrogance, to either take a touch or deftly lob Allison, who clearly dove early, anticipating correctly the direction of Dele’s shot.

Dele also flubbed a first-time lateral pass to Harry Kane, which would have been an automatic goal had he made the right connection. Dele, whose pass fell short of the desired target, made Kane’s finish much more difficult that it should have been. While it wasn’t an easy skill to execute, the Dele of old would have gotten the weight of pass spot on. That’s not to say Kane shouldn’t have still found a way to score, but Dele’s final touch left him wanting once more.

The third and final flawed first touch came after a pinpoint Davinson Sanchez seeing-eye through ball, which hit Dele directly on the chest. The 25-year-old couldn’t bring it down to test Allison, instead allowing Trent Alexander-Arnold the opportunity to close down the space. Spurs wanted a penalty. In truth, Dele went down far too easily. A minute later Tottenham were picking the ball out of their own net.

His failed final touch was, in large part, due to a lack of match sharpness. Dele had everything else in his game, including an increased work rate and tenacity that will endear him to both supporters and his new gaffer. He frequently popped up in Liverpool’s box and made a nuisance of himself throughout, a promising signs for Spurs.

It’s not like he was the only one responsible for missing golden opportunities against Jürgen Klopp’s Reds. Kane and Sonny were also boorishly wasteful in front of goal. Those two players, however, have experienced an entirely different career trajectory.

One looming question is whether Conte will keep the faith and go back to Dele when Spurs make the short trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday. Lucas Moura will almost assuredly be fully fit again, so picking Dele in successive matches would be a definitive sign of faith from Conte.

The other looming question is whether Dele’s encouraging performance against Liverpool was a case of too little too late, as Conte mulls over the thought of sending him away on loan when the transfer period opens in the new year.