works wonders.
After Spurs came from behind to win at Chelsea, with a pair of Dele Alli goals, how will the media report the next game there without banging on about 28 years?
Twenty eight years. Never in the Premier League. It’s all you heard before the game, it’s all you heard during the game, well, for about an hour, the only time it wasn’t mentioned was when the pundits were talking down Dele after he didn’t feature much during the international break.
Then just after the hour mark one ball, two touches and Dele was celebrating and Spurs were ahead.
The pundits all of a sudden started to change their tune, especially four minutes later when he doubled his tally. Of course all of them had read/heard/seen Southgate saying that Dele was carrying an injury and so was rested and not dropped or demoted or in danger of not going to Russia.
The first half of this game was going like the home fixture earlier in the season. Spurs having the ball and then picked off in a counter attack. Hugo was at fault as he missed the cross, that distracted Sanchez he ducked under while Morata behind him nodded in.
Spurs were just fannying about. I tweeted, asking what is the point of having all the ball if you do nothing with it but fanny about. At that very moment Eriksen stopped fannying about. It started though as so much does with Dele and yet again Dele chasing down a lost cause. He kept the ball in from Dier’s cross but didn’t keep possession but Moses gifted that back to Davies. To Dele, back to Davies and he passed it onto Eriksen. The Dane line up and smacked the ball high in the air before it dipped and beat the Chelsea keeper, all ends up.
That was in added time at the end of the first half, it ended one all thanks to a nice tackle in the Spurs area by Sanchez on Hazard and a sliced Alonso shot.
The second half was probably a bit more equal, up until Dier’s pinpoint pass, from his own half, through the heart of the Chelsea defence, Dele’s first touch was the first touch sublimely controlled the ball, within the blink of an eye the second expertly gave Spurs the lead. I think he may have enjoyed the celebration, cupping his ear to the frenzied ramble in te ground and the dimwit pundits around the world.
Harry Kane enjoyed it bouncing from his seat in the dugout…. and on the third day he will be raised to life.
Two very special goals the third a few minutes later wasn’t probably seen as artistic as the previous two but it had it’s moments. A nice ball by Dier was met with a beautiful flick on from Eriksen to Son. Son charged into the box but was blocked by the keeper and then a defender, it looked like the chance had gone but Dele jumped into the action and a lovely touch with his right brought the ball into enough space for him to get his second and kill the game right there.
From one down to 3-1 up. That 28 years, as Dele went the other way to celebrate this time it was with his own, that 28 years had gone in a blink.
Lamela had been screaming for the ball from Son, maybe he should have been passed it but would have been so loved scoring as he was for his little dance on Fabregas? Jan going through Hazard was equally welcomed. Though it has brought the warty face Keith Hackett from under his stone. I haven’t seen that warty phiz in weeks but as soon as Spurs do something there it is in all its lumpy grandeur. Lamelas worked his arse off, as he does every game, doing Fabregas like that may endear him a little more to the haters in the Spurs ranks.
Erik deserved his applauding off the field, Dele had the adulation from each goal and at the end of his 100th Premier League game. This brace bringing his goal total to 36, with 25 assists. So he’s helped contribute to 61 goals in 100 games, not bad.
Even the introduction of Sissoko couldn’t spoil this one. They had a slight chance near the end, when Sanchez a little moment but he was superb throughout. Much talk of Toby not even making the bench after playing midweek, well apparently he didn’t play that well midweek and Poch has a history of not rushing players back from long injuries, especially not in games like this. Said it before, will say it again Sanchez is only 21 and is only in his second full season of senior football.
So Dele is in bad form, gets a brace. Spurs can’t win away from home against the top sides, they win after being behind. They’re a one man team, score three against Chelsea before Harry makes it onto the pitch and that 28 year hoodoo…