Tottenham’s visit to Chelsea began mundanely but by the end was a stage for Dele Alli to deliver two exhilarating goals brimming with imagination
There was a fascinating moment towards the end of a slightly dull opening half-hour at Stamford Beige. Dele Alli had been on the fringe of things in a game that had barely clanked up out of second gear. There were a few loose touches, some misplaced passes. Even then Alli had been his unignorable self, an oddly captivating figure even in those moments where he seems to be playing through a mild fog, circuits jammed, flicks and feints a little out of whack.
That sense of power in reserve was there again as Andreas Christensen and Victor Moses closed on a loose ball, only to find themselves nudged aside by that slender figure in the blue boots, wriggling in between with a thrust of the hips then accelerating away with startling ease, drawing the first real gurgle of excitement from the travelling fans.
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