There was much talk before this clash between two of the Premier League’s title contenders about which system Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino would employ in the absence of the injured Harry Kane.
The Argentine opted for a 3-3-3-1 formation with Son Heung-min the furthest forward, though Dele Alli drifted in from the left and wasn’t too far behind the South Korean star.
While Son’s impact on the game was clear to see in the first-half with his high intensity work-rate and direct play, the England international struggled to stamp his mark on proceedings at Old Trafford.
Despite enjoying more possession and registering 13 shots on goal, more than the hosts, the away side just weren’t clinical and Ali himself faded in the second period.
The Spurs star was the biggest guilty party as he missed a gilt-edged chance – the clearest of the match – just four minutes before Anthony Martial put United into the lead.
The Spurs No.20 should have really made better contact on Christian Eriksen’s sublime centre, but seemed to be put off by the oncoming physical presence of David de Gea.
Either way, it didn’t go in and Spurs went down to a disappointing defeat.
Here, we look at Dele Alli’s performance in-depth:
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Goals – 0
Assists – 0
Shots – 3
Dribbles – 0
Passes – 40
Key passes – 1
Pass Accuracy – 75%
Touches – 57
Aerials Won – 1
It was a tough afternoon in the north-west for Alli as he didn’t make best use of the dangerous situations he found himself in around the box.
The Whites attacker dropped deep and looked for other options to find the ball after being crowded out time and time again by United’s defence.
But the one time he did find some room and tried something different, it should have paid off right away. However, he just couldn’t muster the clinical shot which Eriksen’s excellent pass deserved and poked wide.
Not at his best: Alli.
14 mins – Collects the ball in a prime position on the edge of the box but disappoints with a wayward pass, that nine times out of 10 he would have made, when searching for the feet of Son.
28 mins – Does well to react to a clumsy drop in the penalty area by De Gea and lay the ball off to Moussa Sissoko, who blasted over when he should have hit the target.
30 mins – Needlessly gets involved in a spat with Ashley Young after the full-back’s collision with Serge Aurier – they square up – and the England man is ticked off by Jon Moss.
37 mins – Collects the ball in a prime position on the left-hand side and has plenty of time to drive into the penalty area but stalls in his thinking. Ultimately, he doesn’t know whether to have a go himself or offer a pass, he chooses the later but makes a mess of it as United clear up in a crowded box.
77 mins – Alli does superbly to get a yard on Chris Smalling and latch on to Eriksen’s glorious through ball – and although he manages to get a touch on the ball ahead of the onrushing De Gea – it wasn’t the foothold he wanted. Spurs’ best chance of the match.
Alli cut a frustrated figure.
Alli prides himself on goals from midfield and he will be gutted he didn’t stick Spurs ahead at a crucial juncture of the game.
Aside from his outing against Liverpool, the young star just hasn’t had the composure in front of goal this season as he did last campaign.
The Red Devils, Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young in particular, handled his drift to the left and right to good effect and minimised his impact on the match.
He missed his usual link-up play with Harry Kane but Mauricio Pochettino will be disappointed he didn’t take more responsibility on the pitch.
All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com.
