Dele Alli spotlight

Dele Alli endured a frustrating evening as title-chasing Tottenham only claimed a point in a 1-1 Barclays Premier League draw with Liverpool at Anfield.

After an international break where he was compared to Bryan Robson and mentioned alongside Paul Gascoigne, Alli was below par on Merseyside.

POSITIONING

Alli started in the number 10 role behind Harry Kane but struggled to impact the game in the first period, at one point drifting out to the right side while Son Heung-min took up a more central berth. Liverpool’s defensive midfielders were quick to close him down when he had possession, though he did drift behind the defence a couple of times.

DISTRIBUTION

Liverpool’s pressing game caused Alli to lose the ball after his first touch on a number of occasions. He cushioned a ball off his chest into Kane’s path before the break and almost found Son behind the back four moments later. For the most part, though, Christian Eriksen was a more creative threat.

EFFORTS ON GOAL

A dipping try from 30 yards in the first half was easily snaffled by Simon Mignolet, but Alli found himself all alone much closer to goal after the interval. Receiving a pass over the top from Kane, he attempted to flick a header behind him and over Liverpool’s goalkeeper only to get it all wrong. On another occasion, Eriksen’s clever dink reached Alli, who overran the ball when chesting down as Mignolet rushed out.

IMPACT

Alli looked jaded and certainly failed to live up to the hype of recent weeks. He was taken off two minutes from time with Spurs chasing a winner and looked disappointed in himself. He will hope the opportunity which ran away from him in the second half will not prove costly for Tottenham’s title chances.