Dele Alli insists he does not blame Jose Mourinho for his decline in form that has left him struggling for game time at Tottenham and out of contention for England selection.
The 25-year-old, who joined Spurs back in 2015, was rarely involved in key matches prior to Mourinho being sacked in April and was linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain that would have reunited him with Mauricio Pochettino.
Alli played five times for England at World Cup 2018 but his lack of match action and reduced production meant he was not a candidate for Euro 2020 selection.
Mourinho was often questioned for his decision to rarely use Alli even as Spurs struggled to a seventh-place finish.
But the player insists he does not blame his former boss, who has clashed with multipl…
Spectators will be allowed back into some grounds for this weekend s round of Premier League fixtures, which means Tottenham will have the backing of 2,000 fans when they take on Arsenal in Sunday s north London derby.
December promises to be a hectic month for every team, and Premier League leaders Spurs will be aiming to keep themselves in pole position.
Using Opta data, we ve come up with our latest weekly selection of fantasy picks, which might give some aspiring managers an edge heading into the festive period
LUKASZ FABIANSKI
West Ham have shot up the table after a run of three straight wins, and sit in fifth place.
Goalkeeper Fabianski, who has conceded 11 times in total, has been crucial, with David Moyes side conceding just o…
Barcelona coped admirably without Lionel Messi in their ranks as they eased to a 3-0 win over Ferencvaros in Wednesday s Champions League clash.
Messi was rested for the second consecutive Group G game due to concerns over his fitness and with Ronald Koeman s men already assured of a place in the last 16.
Barca eased to victory against the Hungarian champions thanks to goals from Antoine Griezmann, Martin Braithwaite and Ousmane Dembele inside the opening half an hour.
The LaLiga giants have now won nine of their last 10 Champions League games without Messi, drawing the other, since a 2-1 loss to Ajax in November 2013.
That s now 4 goals in 3 games for new Barcelona hero Martin Braithwaite!
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague)
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James Ward-Prowse has received a late England call-up to replace the injured Kalvin Phillips for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary.
Leeds United midfielder Phillips has been ruled out with a calf strain he suffered in his club s 1-0 win over Watford on Saturday.
Ward-Prowse, who became the fourth Southampton player to both score and be sent off in a Premier League match after Peter Crouch (May 2005), Sadio Mane (October 2015) and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (December 2018) after he followed up a successfully converted penalty with a straight red card in the defeat to Chelsea on Saturday, is the latest addition to the squad for manager Gareth Southgate.
England s manager is already without a host of players for the October fixtures.
…
Thomas Tuchel suggested Chelsea s profligacy gave Burnley the belief they could benefit from the pure luck required to claim a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Premier League leaders Chelsea somehow did not beat Burnley despite dominating Saturday s game before and after Kai Havertz s 33rd-minute opener.
The Blues had 25 attempts but failed to add to their total, allowing visiting substitute Matej Vydra to steal an equaliser with one of his side s five shots.
This was the first time Chelsea had attempted 25 shots in a home league match but failed to win since 26 efforts in a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in August 2015.
Tuchel s men had won their previous four league games but are still to record a sequence of five straight victories in the competition during …
Inter s Serie A title charge remains on course after goals from Romelu Lukaku, Matteo Darmian and Alexis Sanchez sealed a 3-0 win over Genoa at San Siro on Sunday.
Belgium international Lukaku set them on their way to a fifth consecutive top-flight win with a goal inside the opening minute.
Antonio Conte s side largely dominated proceedings thereafter, with Nicolo Barella striking the crossbar, and they wrapped up all three points in the second period through Darmian and Sanchez.
The result moved them seven points ahead of second-placed Milan, although Stefano Pioli s side can rein them back in with victory over Roma later on Sunday.
Three goals and three more points in the bag
— Inter (@Inter_en)
Inter started in blistering fa…
Harry Wilson revealed how the Wales dressing room serenaded David Brooks with “his song” after the Bournemouth forward scored his first international goal since beating cancer.
Brooks was diagnosed with stage-two Hodgkin lymphoma in October 2021 while on Wales duty.
The 26-year-old announced he was cancer-free in May last year, but it has been a long road back to form and fitness as Brooks’ body took time to recover from the full effects of the disease.
Brooks will tear you apart again
— Wales
…
Wales manager Rob Page has told top-flight clubs to make a move for “Premier League player” Daniel James.
The Wales winger’s club career remains uncertain following Leeds’ relegation to the Sky Bet Championship.
James spent last season on loan with Fulham but has now returned to managerless Leeds and the second tier, where he shone at Swansea to earn a 2019 move to Manchester United.
Page said: “I do think DJ is a Premier League player and he could easily play there again.
“If I’m a Premier League manager and I find out he’s available, personally I’d take him.
“I’m bound to say that because I’m his Welsh manager, but for me he always poses a threat.
“He still has things to work on but with the pace he’s got it i…
Malta’s home support at the Ta’ Qali Stadium can be their 12th man and ruin England’s hopes of a third-straight Euro 2024 qualifying win on Friday, according to former player David Carabott.
The 122-cap veteran has a contentious claim to being Malta’s only ever goalscorer against England, after his penalty struck a post before rebounding in off goalkeeper Richard Wright during a friendly in the capital Valetta, 23 years ago.
FIFA officially credit the goal – which drew the tiny Mediterranean island nation level after Martin Keown had scored for Kevin Keegan’s side – to then Ipswich keeper Wright, who was making his international debut.
And Carabott had a chance to write himself further into his country’s folklore with a second spot-kick in the 88t…
Luis Enrique is not concerned by Paris Saint-Germain s recent form, insisting it s part of the process of the team growing .
PSG made a flying start to the Ligue 1 season, winning each of their opening three matches while scoring 13 goals along the way.
Yet, since the international break, they were forced to come from behind in their 3-1 win over Lille, and it took a last-minute own-goal to see them past debutants Girona in their Champions League opener.
Luis Enrique s side then dropped their first points of the league campaign when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Reims last weekend, but the Spaniard is focusing on the positives from his players recent displays.
I feel things differently, he told reporters when asked if there had been a decline in his s…