The England international didn’t score or assist but was crucial to the Tottenham display.
The midfielder was not one of the Spurs stars that hit the headlines after the performance, with Erik Lamela, Heung-min Son and Harry Kane providing the eye-catching goals and assists.
Alli was nonetheless a vital part of the victory and for Townsend, the most important.
The former Chelsea midfielder thinks that he adds something to Kane’s game, making Spurs a far more dangerous outfit in attack, comparing him favourably to teammate Christian Eriksen.
Speaking to the BBC (22/10 live match page, 22:41), Townsend said of Alli’s performance: “I think the catalyst for that tonight was a fit and lean-looking Dele Alli.
“When he runs beyond Harry Kane and provides other options for the centre-forward to drop in and collect the ball and feed wide men and use his footballing intelligence then I think it makes such a difference to their team.
“I think this season, when Eriksen has played he has not looked at it at all.”
Was Alli back at his best?
Townsend also claimed to the broadcaster that the 23-year-old was back at his best, which is quite the claim considering some of the form he’s shown in the past.
His 2016/17 season still stands as the high watermark of his time at Spurs. That season he scored a massive 22 goals and assisted 13 times.
This term he’s yet to find his groove in terms of direct goal contributions.
However he was a very functional performer against Red Star. He pressed the opposition impressively, which is where Townsend’s ‘fit and lean-looking’ comments come into the equation. There was no faulting that side of his game.
If he can continue in that manner and find confidence with more goals and assists, he might start to hit the heights that marked him out as one of the best players in the country a couple of years ago.
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