Four shots, 67 touches, two nutmegs: Dele Alli a bright spot in Monaco defeat

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Tottenham Hotspur slumped to a 2-1 defeat in their Champions League opener, but the England star provided several outstanding moments in the match.

Tottenham’s Dele Alli in action with Monaco’s Radamel Falcao

Tottenham Hotspur suffered a disappointing 2-1 loss to Monaco at home on Wednesday night, in their opening Champions League match of the season.

And though the result was a big blow on what was a high profile day at Wembley, there were still positives to take away from the match, Dele Alli’s performance one of them.

Spurs were the stronger side for much of the match, and only conceded on each occasion after errors.

Tottenham’s Dele Alli looks dejected after the game

The return of Mousa Dembele and performance of Toby Alderweireld were plus points despite the defeat, while Alli had a superb spell in the middle of the match.

The 20-year-old was in especially impressive form at the start of the second half, when it looked inevitable that Spurs would net at least once more. After being pushed forward by Pochettino following Dembele’s introduction, he picked up the ball up in danger areas, and led the side with an attacking hunger and quality on the ball that sadly slipped away in the final ten minutes.

Below are his statistics from the game:

Alli, alongside Kane, had the most shots on goal of any Spurs player, with the midfielder testing Danijel Subasic on two occasions. No one in midfield and attack made more accurate passes than Alli except Eric Dier, while he also had more touches than any player except the Tottenham back four.

The former MK Dons man was active in looking for the ball and also tracked back despite his attacking role in the second half.

But it was around the opposition box that Alli excelled, especially in the early part of the second half with Dembele on the pitch.

A quite exquisite nutmeg on a Monaco defender saw Alli put Christian Eriksen through on goal for a dangerous cross, and that seemed to fill him with confidence.

Monaco’s Andrea Raggi in action with Tottenham’s Dele Alli

The England international hit a dipping half volley from outside the box that stretched the goalkeeper, before another nutmeg that won a free kick about 30 yards out as he continued to look the most dangerous of Tottenham’s attacking players.

Thought Spurs lost the match, there were signs that Alli was building up his confidence to the levels he exhibited last season, especially after his performance against Stoke at the weekend.

And as long as the North Londoners cut out their mistakes, there should once again be positive results to accompany dominant performances.