Pochettino confident of Dele Alli participation in the Champions League final

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino is confident that Dele Alli will be available for the Champions League final against Liverpool next month despite appearing exhausted during the final Premier League game of the campaign against Everton. The England international appeared jaded in a lacklustre performance in the first period which saw him substituted at the break.

Speaking to reporters, Pochettino acknowledged that Alli was not in the best of shape for the curtain closer and he had doubts whether the midfielder would start the game in the first place. He added that the substitution was taken as a precaution and the playmaker should return to the mix for the Champions League final in Madrid.

He said: “He didn’t start in the warm-up, he was feeling strange and then his performance was very poor in the first half because he can’t cope with the situation. So because of caution, he was out. I think it is not a problem. We need to assess him, but I think he was tired, but for the circumstance again we played with him. I think in a normal condition he was for sure not starting the game, but we started with him and, before that problem starts something, at half-time we made the change.”

Spurs had the chance to leapfrog Chelsea to the third spot with a victory but they could not do so after a strong performance from Everton during the second period. As such, they had to settle for a 2-2 draw against the Toffees and they eventually sealed the final Champions League place ahead of arch-rivals Arsenal by the single point.

The players are now expected to switch their attention to the Champions League final against Liverpool where they are certain to be deemed as the under dogs. Spurs have not won any trophy over the past decade and winning the competition could be considered as a massive success for a team which has not spent a single penny over the past two transfer windows.