Pochettino lauds Dele Alli’s calmness after red card

Tottenham Hotspur boss, Mauricio Pochettino has praised Dele Alli for remaining, “calm” during yesterday’s red-card incident at St James’ Park.

Alli found himself on the receiving end of a stamp from Newcastle United skipper, Jonjo Shelvey, with the scoreline goalless just after the break, an incident that led to the former Liverpool man receiving his marching orders.

The 21-year-old then went on to score Spurs’ first of the afternoon just after the hour mark, before playing a key role in setting up Ben Davies for the decisive second as Pochettino’s men ran out 2-0 winners.

“He was calm – that’s important, Last season, we talked a lot about that, how we need to behave and improve and learn,” Pochettino told Sky Sports News.

“He’s mature enough now to accept sometimes what happens on the pitch, but he is so calm, he is so brave. Then he scored – a great goal – and I am very pleased.

“I think it was clear it was a red card. The referee has seen the action, it was very clear. It’s unlucky for Newcastle. I’m sure Rafa is upset about the situation. Sometimes when you’re a player on the pitch it’s not easy to have the control,” he concluded.

Alli has now scored eight goals and registered five assists in his side’s last 14 league games.

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