Tottenham news: Dele Alli admits Spurs must be more clinical in front of goal

Tottenham must be more clinical in front of goal if they’re to take all three points from their games, midfielder Dele Alli has said.

The Lilywhites dominated possession in their Premier League clash with Leicester at White Hart Lane on Saturday, but struggled to find the back of the net in open play.

Vincent Janssen’s penalty on the brink of half-time put the home side ahead but a six-yard effort from Leicester’s Ahmed Musa in the 47th minute levelled the score at 1-1.

“There's a few disappointed boys in the dressing room today, we felt like we should have left with the three points again,” Alli said after Saturday’s game.

“It's important that we become more clinical.

“I think the last three games, West Brom, Bournemouth, Leicester, it felt like they were games that we should have got nine points from. But it's important that we don't get too down on ourselves.

“We've got to keep fighting. We know who we are as a team and we've got to keep performing well, and make sure we put away the chances.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men registered 22 shots, five of which were on target, and enjoyed a series of close chances throughout the match.

Alli himself hit the woodwork in the first half after a well-worked passage of play down the right flank gifted the 20-year-old with a prime goalscoring opportunity from inside the Leicester box.

open image in gallery

Jan Vertonghen also hit the upright in the closing minutes of the match after rising highest in the penalty area to meet Kyle Walker’s delivery with a well-timed header.

It wasn’t to be enough though as the Foxes held on to walk away with a well-earned point.

When asked why Tottenham have recently struggled to create one-on-one chances for themselves, Alli replied: "I think it's down to our general play, we haven’t been as sharp as we need to be around the box and in the final third.

“I think we've defended well as a team, we have played well through the thirds, but it's just important that when we are in that final third we do look forward and look to finish the play off."

Tottenham are now without a win in five and have drawn their last three consecutive matches in the league.

With Harry Kane still out action and Son Heung-min’s goal streak drawn to a close, Spurs have now not scored from open play in a total of 360 minutes.

But despite Tottenham’s recent run of draws, Pochettino has insisted that he is not worried.

“Me, I never panic,” he said. “In football no. When I go to the streets sometimes I am scared to walk on the street because you never know there are crazy people there but in football never.

“And then it is very positive. In a bad period we are very positive because we are unbeaten. Maybe we don't win but we don't lose and that is important. But we have ahead two very important games. [Bayer] Leverkusen will be key for us and Arsenal too because it is the derby.”

Although the Argentine confessed that football “is about scoring goals”, he stressed that his side’s strong mental outlook was encouraging.

“We are too close, too close, too close,” he stated. “The important thing is our mentality is good. We are strong, we are a team that fight a lot and for the opponent we are a team that is difficult to play. We need to keep that and ensure that the goal is coming, is coming.”