When you think of Dele Alli at the peak of his powers at Tottenham Hotspur, your mind probably goes to his incredible goal against Crystal Palace.
Or his brace that broke Chelsea’s 13-game winning streak.
Or his brace in the Champions League against Real Madrid.
Or he kept his ear to the Shed End the entire time he ended Tottenham’s barren run at Stamford Bridge.
Or he scored a goal at England’s 2018 World Cup, which brought back the country’s enthusiasm for the national team.
You probably aren’t thinking about his last truly great game – Spurs’ 3-2 comeback win at Ajax in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League semi-final.
The reasons are obvious. If you had to pick just one winner from this game it would be hat-trick hero Lucas Moura. Dele’s own such revered achievements came when he was the one on the scoresheet. His best moments were usually just those – moments.
The difference in its impact in Amsterdam was that it spanned the entire 90 minutes. Dele’s fingerprints were all over the greatest night in Tottenham’s modern history, despite never taking his favorite role at center stage.
With Spurs down one and two at the Johan Cruyff Arena and their Champions League campaign going up in flames, Dele was one of the few to react before Spurs managed to regroup at half-time.
Ajax led 2-0 on the night, 3-0 on aggregate. Mauricio Pochettino brought in Victor Wanyama for Fernando Llorente, the gigantic Spaniard moving up front as Tottenham moved from a tight 4-4-2 to their more traditional 4-2-3-1. Dele went into the hole while Christian Eriksen held the reins from deep.
It was this combination that initially frayed Ajax’s nerves, as a traditional Eriksen cross from the half-space brought Dele into the defense and forced Andre Onana into his first great save of the evening. If they had eventually been eliminated, the moment would have been seen as Spurs’ sliding doors nightmare.
Criticism of Dele in recent years has stemmed from his early decline and his inability to maintain or overcome the extremely high bar he had set. As the stats dried up, people wondered casually and disingenuously whether he actually served a purpose, whether he actually contributed to the victory.
But his selfless, team-oriented attitude not only kept Tottenham in the fight, but also propelled them up and off the screen. Despite his numerous injury setbacks throughout the season, he led the press. He led the battle for the jersey and tried to stir the pot as Ajax, the cheeky opponents on the night in Amsterdam, imploded.
Dele carried the ball a good 20 yards, leading to Spurs’ first goal of the game, and Lucas snatched it off his toes before Ajax’s Lasse Schone could do so. The same tandem took Tottenham into the final after 96 minutes.
With seconds left, Llorente’s touchdown gave Spurs one last attack – Dele’s innate shot, Lucas’ finish.
Just as Lucas didn’t need to look at the goal for his second goal of the night, Dele didn’t need to look up to find his Brazilian teammate. He had been trying to find him all night, all season. The same run, from outside to inside. Over and over again.
Dele’s intelligence is buried in the story of his career and life. “Personally he is like a child and he is intelligent and smart. As far as football is concerned, he is also intelligent,” Pochettino once said, after also describing his star midfielder as “cheeky”.
His playground style has also been misinterpreted. After the first leg, legendary midfielder Ruud Gullit hit out at Dele and his teammates, proclaiming: “Dele Alli, oh my God, so bad technically. Wanyama, my God, technically, Rose too.”
Having eliminated Ajax in this manner, the fiery Rose later replied: “He was very critical of individual players and said how bad we were technically and he’s completely out of commission because of that, so that added fuel to the fire. “I hope he eats.” his words after tonight.
Dele was and is misunderstood as a player. That’s okay, not everyone will get it, that’s part of football. But what should be remembered more is how he helped lead Tottenham to the Champions League final – a completely insane feat that few in history have been able to achieve.