[엑스포츠뉴스 김정현 인턴기자] Dele Ali finally returned to Mourinho’s plan.
Tottenham Hotspur, Dele Ali, started an away game against Fulham in the 33rd round of the 2020/21 season held on the 5th (Korean time).
Ali was a league starter 173 days after the opening match with Everton in the first round. In this day, Ali contributed to the team victory by touching the opponent’s own goal.
In addition to scoring, Ali showed off his performance at the time of a successful season at Tottenham, showing a turn and possession of the ball in the offensive side.
Ali has not been chosen by coach Jose Mourinho throughout this season. After starting the first round of the league, he played only as a substitute in the league and had many missed games.
Ali has only played in eight league games this season and has only 204 minutes to play. He mainly competed in the UEFA Europa League and his country’s cup competitions.
Ali, who played in four games in the Europa League group stage, scored one goal and one help, but it was difficult to raise her performance, and her performance did not improve even in his own cup tournament. In addition, at the end of January 2021, he went through rehabilitation due to a tendon injury.
Because of this, he requested a transfer from Lee Yoo-ryo to inform the lack of time on the business trip, and the transfer rumors circulated with PSG before and after Tottenham’s former manager Maurizio Pochettino took office.
However, Ali failed to transfer and remained at Tottenham to try again. He recently started showing off his improved performance against Wolfsberger in the Europa League round of 32, and he started to appear again in league matches.
In the second leg of the Europa League round of 32, he scored one goal and two assists, attracting attention again from manager Mourinho and Tottenham fans, and he played in the league game again as a substitute before Burnley.
And on this day, he came out as a starter against Fulham and showed an influential figure again, and coach Mourinho completely trusted him.
Coach Mourinho said at a press conference after the game,’He is entitled to start. Starting a business trip is not a talent. It was the result of Ali’s efforts after returning to injury,” he said.
Then he said,’Ali worked 100% with the squad and was completely ready to play. He gave us important things. He played in the Europa League and also played well against West Ham and Burnley. He said he deserves the start.
With Ali’s business trip that day, Tottenham’s Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Gareth Bale, and Dele Ali appeared simultaneously for the first time in the season.
Coach Mourinho said,’We are happy that they have contributed greatly to the team. In the case of Ali, it is very important to feel like being selected for the Premier League.
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