Tottenham earned a solid 1-1 draw at Fiorentina in the Europa League on Thursday, with Nacer Chadli scoring a crucial away goal.
Despite the good result, much of the post-match talk was bout Dele Alli’s first-half incident when he appeared to kick Fiorentina defender Nenad Tomovic.
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As the ball rolled out of play for a Spurs’ corner, Tomovic fell to the ground. While Alli had time to stop or jump over Tomovic, he continued into the defender, kicking him straight in the stomach.
Not a good look for Dele Alli. #THFC https://t.co/Boht0qfruT
— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) February 18, 2016
Tomovic was incensed by the play, but the referee showed Alli a yellow card and he remained in the game.
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Speaking after the match, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino said Alli is still young and “has a lot to learn” about playing at the top level.
We need to look at the video and try to teach him.
He is a young player and he has a lot to learn about elite football. It is his first season in the Premier League at Tottenham.
He came from League One, he needs to learn a lot, still learn.
Alli has burst onto the Premier League scene this season, with the 19-year-old grabbing seven goals and five assists in his first year with Spurs. His exceptional form has made the teenager a likely England player for the upcoming EUROs, but he will have to make sure another incident like this does not happen again.
