RAHEEM DIDN’T TRY TO DO ME, SAYS ALLI

DELE ALLI has cleared Raheem Sterling of any blame after the Manchester City winger’s late tackle forced him off on Sunday.

Alli had to be replaced in the 70th minute of Tottenham’s 2-0 win following the early foul.

Jose Mourinho felt Sterling should have been sent off but Alli defended his England team-mate.

He said: “We were speaking about it at half-time and we are good friends.

“I know what sort of player Raheem is and he would never intentionally try to hurt someone.

“There are no hard feelings, he is a fantastic player and we move on.

“We were chatting afterwards too, he was not in the best of moods — he is a winner, so it was difficult.

“We haven’t seen each other for a while so it was nice to have a catch up.”

Alli, 23, turned his ankle after being caught on the shin by Sterling’s studs-up challenge during the first half at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

He is understood to have suffered no lasting damage but could miss tomorrow’s FA Cup fourth-round replay against Southampton as a precaution.

Sterling, 25, was given the all-clear after limping off six minutes from time with what many had thought to be a hamstring problem.

Responding to suggestions that

Sterling should have seen red beforehand, Alli added: “I am not sure if it deserved a red card to be honest.

“I have not had a proper look back at it – it’s for the referee and VAR to make the decision, and they didn’t give the red card. It is football, those things happen, and I know it was nothing intentional. He is not a player like that.

“I was a bit sore in the game, but hopefully it is not too bad.”