Alli in the mood to take on idol Messi
DELE ALLI hopes his 50th goal for Tottenham will spark a week to remember for the club.
Alli has a dream date with Lionel Messi in the Nou Camp tomorrow with Spurs back in the Premier League title race.
The England midfielder says he is desperate for more league goals but blanks any talk of a title assault, despite the fact his team lie just six points off leaders Liverpool and with only one top-six opponent in their next 11 matches.
“We’re not really thinking about that,” said Alli. “We’re just focusing on the next game and don’t want to lose focus on what our aim is, which is to get as many points as we can.
“We don’t want to get dragged into title-race talk because then we can focus too much on performances and get carried away with it.”
Alli effectively put this game beyond Leicester’s reach with a 59th-minute diving header after Son Heung-min picked him out at the far post, the outstanding South Korean having floored Leicester with a magnificent curling shot on the stroke of half-time.
Alli said: “Obviously, I’m delighted to get 50 but I can’t stop now. I’ve got to keep going and get more in the league.
“I want to get many more and I don’t want to be recognised just for scoring goals, I want to help the team in many other ways as well.”
Spurs still have a chance of making the Champions League knockout stages but a win tomorrow would look to be the minimum requirement.
Alli said: “Barcelona are one of the best teams in the world, they’ve got some great players. As a kid you dream about playing at the Nou Camp and we’re going to go there and give it our best shot.
“Messi, he is the best player in the world, he is a fantastic player and a joy to watch. He is a player that everyone idolises because of what he’s achieved in his career.”
Leicester hardly gave Spurs the ideal dress rehearsal for Barcelona. Claude Puel’s side never seemed to be quite at it and once Son’s goal cracked them open it was hard to see a way back.
Without Jamie Vardy, the Foxes are woefully short of attacking options and Puel will surely want to invest in that department come January.
Injury to Vardy gave Kelechi Iheanacho, 22, another chance to show his credentials but he missed a decent chance and was taken off early.
However, Puel is refusing to give up on the misfiring striker, whose substitution was met with ironic cheers from some sections of the home crowd.
Iheanacho’s £25million price tag is hardly helping him win over the King Power faithful, who are struggling to grasp just how much Leicester paid for him. He has scored just once in 15 appearances this season alongside just three in 21 the previous campaign.
Puel said: “His game was not bad. He tried to work for his team. Of course he didn’t have a clean connection at the end, but it was not just Kele.”
LEICESTER (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel 7; Ricardo 6, Evans 7, Morgan 7, Chilwell 7; Iborra 6 (Albrighton 55, 5), Ndidi 6; Mendy 6 (Okazaki 79), Maddison 7, Gray 6; Iheanacho 5 (Ghezzal 55, 6). Booked: Mendy, Albrighton, Gray. NEXT UP: Crystal Palace (a), Sat PL.
TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1): Lloris 6; Aurier 6 (Walker-Peters 78), Alderweireld 7, Vertonghen 7, Davies 7; Dier 7, Winks 7; Sissoko 6, Dele 8, Son 8 (Kane 73, 5); Lucas 6 (Eriksen 67, 5). Booked: Dier. Goals: Son 45, Alli 58. NEXT UP: Barcelona (a), tomorrow CL.
Referee: C Pawson (Yorkshire).