Pochettino Admits Alli Has A Lot To Learn

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino will assess the replay of Dele Alli’s kick on Fiorentina defender Nenad Tomovic after missing the incident during the draw in Florence.

If Spurs overcome Fiorentina in their Europa League last-32 tie and defeat Crystal Palace in the FA Cup at the weekend, they are set to play 11 matches before the end of March.

Luke McGee, the goalkeeper, and Josh Onomah complete the bench as Spurs seek to become the first English side to beat Fiorentina in four matches.

“To come to a place like this and get the away goal is massive, it was obviously disappointing to give away the lead but I think on reflection in the second half it was probably a fair result and we’re confident going back to the Lane”.

Alli kept his place in the Spurs team despite Pochettino making six changes from Sunday’s 2-1 win at Manchester City and, although he was once again the pick of the bunch, it is not the first time the former MK Dons man has courted controversy.

Jakub Blaszczykowski then saw an effort blocked for the hosts before a Christian Eriksen piledriver from distance stung the palms of Ciprian Tatarusanu in the Fiorentina goal with a quarter of the game gone.

The Argentinian oversaw a quiet start to the first knock-out clash of the Europa League, with the first shot of the game coming from Fiorentina’s Mauro Zarate after 17 minutes of both sides playing in a very controlled manner when in possession. “We need to assess him during the week if he can be available for next Thursday but for sure, tomorrow and next Sunday he is out” said Pochettino.

It is not the first time Alli has been in hot water. Spurs won Group J, finishing with 13 points, three points ahead of Anderlecht of Belgium.

“Last season was very different, some different players and we are in a different period now”, he said.

“They have a lot of quality, so even an injury doesn’t make them weaker”.

The Premier League is rapidly approaching the final few months of competition, when a champion will be crowned. “But today we have a good mix and balance and every game we play is the priority and a challenge”. He came in the summer and with him came a lot of great players like Facundo Roncaglia, Mario Suárez or their best scorer Nikola Kalinic.