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TIMELY

Dele Alli is the man for the big occasion when the doubters start circling

And he's still feelin' 22...

Imagine getting bottled in one of the biggest derbies in world football and having the stones to respond like that.

The temerity to give it back to the sad, disgruntled muppet in the Emirates crowd.

Dele Alli reminded us all last night that not only is he the Premier League’s king of rustling, but that he’s the man for the biggest occasions too.


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Rustler

AP:Associated Press
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Rustler

He lives for these encounters. Inject them into his veins, his face, his eyeballs.

Alli’s penchant for the provocative means he’s always like to get under the skin and naturally, as a result, he’s got more than a few doubters.

But anyone would envy his record when the stakes are at their highest.

Plastic fans

Reuters
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Plastic fans

In his breakthrough year in 2016, Alli scored against Man United and Man City.

A year later he upped the ante, bagging against Chelsea twice, City, Chelsea again, Arsenal, Liverpool and Real Madrid… twice.

So far in 2018 he’s backed up scoring in the World Cup quarter-final by ending Spurs’ Stamford Bridge curse and rubbing it in Arsenal’s faces last night.

For country

Times Newspapers Ltd
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For country

For club

EPA
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For club

That’s a pretty glittering portfolio.

One goal, one assist, one Man of the Match award and one display of pure s***housery; Alli’s performance against the Gunners ticked all his boxes.

An ‘impudent dink’ is usually only reserved for the sauciest of finishes, but this was so impudent and dinky that even Lionel Messi would gaze on in awe.

Alli now has 75 career goals at just 22-years-old.

Man of the Match performance

AP:Associated Press
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Man of the Match performance

It’s very, very easy to forget how young he still is, that Jesse Lingard is nearly four years his senior.

He’s still learning and developing under the tutelage of one of the most progressive young managers in the game.

The face of boohoo

BoohooMAN
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The face of boohoo

Off the field Alli is the face of boohooMAN and a viral phenomenon.

But on it he keeps delivering, justifying his spiky nature with decisive moments when they really matter.

His haters can try their best, but Alli will have the last laugh.


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