Harry Kane’s reputation continues to soar after another blistering display for Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
But one Spurs player whose head won’t be held quite so high this weekend is Dele Alli, the midfielder who recently received a one-match international ban for his middle finger gesture during England’s World Cup qualifier victory against Slovakia earlier this month.
Alli hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again on Saturday when, with the victory already guaranteed, he decided to dive in an attempt to win a penalty.
Spurs were 3-0 up when the midfielder dramatically hit the deck under a challenge from Huddersfield goalkeeper Jonas Lossl but referee Neil Swarbrick was not fooled by the blatant act of simulation and he booked Alli, who smiled guiltily as he accepted his punishment.
“I didn’t see it, it was difficult from my position,” manager Mauricio Pochettino said of the incident. “But if it was like this, he needs to learn. He must learn.
“Because this type of action doesn’t help him, doesn’t help the team and doesn’t help football. We have talked in the last few years about fair play and being honest. I think he’s improving a lot, but still it’s something he has to learn about.”
Kane, meanwhile, took his early season tally to 11 with a brace in the 4-0 victory at the John Smith’s Stadium and Pochettino was full of praise for arguably the most in-form forward in Europe right now.
“It’s so difficult to talk every three days about Harry Kane,” said Pochettino. “To find different words to describe him. He’s fantastic.
“He’s great in front of goal, but when we don’t have the ball he’s the first to run, fight, work hard for the team, and that mentality is fantastic.”
