DELE THE DESTROYER
Now he’s ready to face Messi and Co
DELE ALLI cleared his throat and said with a sense of certainty: ‘We’re ready’. The 22-year-old had overcome a cold at the King Power Stadium to score his 50th goal for Tottenham and immediately began looking forward to what awaits in the Nou Camp.
Tomorrow night’s match carries the potential to elevate careers. Victory against Barcelona would be magnificent in isolation, but in the context of a Champions League comeback from the dead it would write a new page in the club’s history.
‘You want to be challenging yourself and we’re going there with the mentality that we can win,’ said Alli. ‘We have to believe. It’s going to be a difficult game but you want to be playing the world’s greatest players. As a kid you dream about playing at the Nou Camp and we’re going to give it our best shot.’
Staying ahead of Inter, who are level with Spurs and host PSV, might require returning from Catalonia with three points. But that Spurs even have a chance of qualifying after one point from their first three games is remarkable.
‘We obviously didn’t start as well as we would have liked but we have turned it around and had some very good performances, so we’ve just got to keep up that momentum,’ Alli added.
Already qualified, Barcelona may rest players, but Alli wants to face Lionel Messi having been injured for the game at Wembley. ‘He is a player that everyone idolised,’ said Alli. ‘He is a joy to watch.’
Watching from the touchlines at Leicester were Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen. It was the first time since March 2014 that both had been absent from a Premier League line-up but with Barcelona less than 72 hours away Mauricio Pochettino felt the imperative to provide rest. The pair came on to play 39 minutes between them. By then Spurs had won the match, with Son Heung-min scoring brilliantly on the stroke of halftime then crossing for Alli to head in just before the hour. Claiming a half-century of goals for Tottenham at his age and from midfield is certainly worthy of recognition. Alli said: ‘I’m delighted but I can’t stop now. I want to get many more.’ Serge Aurier’s injury gave cause for concern but Pochettino has no trepidation about starting 21-yearold right back Kyle Walker-Peters. ‘He’s more than capable,’ said the Argentine, who has already won in the Nou Camp as a manager. ‘As a player with Espanyol there were a lot of derbies, as a manager my first match was against Barcelona there and we beat them 2-1. I have experience. We’re going to play one of the best teams in Europe and the only way that we can be happy will be to win the game, and that will be tough.’
With Manchester City losing at Chelsea, Tottenham are now six points off the top. ‘It’s good for the Premier League,’ said Pochettino. ‘It’s an exciting season.’
Leicester were obliging opponents. Without Jamie Vardy, who has a groin injury, Claude Puel’s side are drastically reduced and striker Kelechi Iheanacho seems to be suffering a crisis of confidence. ‘He tried to work for his team and offer a solution,’ said Puel. ‘Of course he didn’t have the clean connection at the end.’
Pochettino has no such concerns, with Kane, Eriksen, Alli, Son, and Lucas Moura at his disposal to face Barcelona. ‘Yes, you are picking the team!’ he said. It was not entirely certain if he was joking. LEICESTER CITY (4-3-3): Schmeichel 6; Ricardo 6, Morgan 7, Evans 7, Chilwell 7; Mendy 4.5 (Okazaki 79min), Iborra 6.5 (Albrighton 56, 6), Ndidi 6; Gray 6.5, Iheanacho 4 (Ghezzal 56, 6), Maddison 6.5. Subs not used: Ward, Maguire, Fuchs, Choudhury. Booked: Mendy, Albrighton, Gray. Manager: Claude Puel 6. TOTTENHAM (4-3-1-2): Lloris 7; Aurier 7 (Walker-Peters 78), Vertonghen 7.5, Alderweireld 7, Davies 7; Dier 7, Winks 7, Sissoko 7; Alli 7.5; Moura 7.5 (Eriksen 67, 6), SON 8 (Kane 74, 5). Subs not used: Rose, N’Koudou, Gazzaniga, Skipp. Scorers: Son 45+1, Alli 58. Booked: Dier. Manager: Mauricio Pochettino 8. Referee: Craig Pawson 8. Attendance: 31,957.