Mauricio Pochettino to talk to Dele Alli about Kevin De Bruyne tackle and his lack of form

Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he will have talks with Dele Alli in the wake of the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder’s collapse in form and disgraceful studs-up challenge on Kevin De Bruyne.

Alli was fortunate not to be sent off after careering through the Manchester City midfielder in the second half on a day when the 21-year-old’s form again deserted him. He had earlier caught Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho with his studs in poor tackles.

The England midfielder’s performance level has dropped sharply since scoring twice in Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over European champions Real Madrid on Nov. 1, since when he has failed to score in nine matches.

Alli, who scored 22 goals last season, has only netted once in the Premier League since August and Pochettino, while reluctant to criticise the youngster, does plan to speak with him.

“I am not going now to talk about individual players,” the Tottenham head coach said. “You can assess, people can assess. I’m going to say what I need to do and try to help him and help everyone.”

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There has been a 29-point swing between Spurs and City since the end of last season, but while Pochettino acknowledged his side were struggling in the league, he waved away concerns and also insisted that he was unfazed about Tottenham’s travel sickness in big games. Since he took charge in 2014, Spurs have won just one of 18 league away matches against the established elite.

“You see me concerned?” he said. “Not really, no. It’s about how you finish in the league and the position in the table. Last season we were above Manchester City in the table. This season we are below. Maybe we need to improve our results not only away from home but at home. The expectation was massive during the season but yes we struggled maybe with different competitions but in the Champions League we are doing fantastic. In the Premier League we are not in the position we wanted but we are fighting for the top four.”