Yahoo News ‘We can’t keep doing this’ – Dele Alli’s blunt critique after Tottenham ‘throw away’ chance of FA Cup glory
Tottenham star Dele Alli bemoaned another wasted opportunity to win silverware after Manchester United progressed to the FA Cup Final with victory at Wembley.
The England international had given Spurs the lead inside 11 minutes, and despite dominating possession in the early exchanges, Mauricio Pochettino’s side were unable to take the game by the scruff of the neck and force home their advantage.
First, former Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez outjumped the Spurs defence to level the match, before Ander Herrera fired home the second just after the hour mark.
Tottenham’s response was tepid, to say the least, and Alli was left cursing a defeat which he feels was of their own making.
"We let ourselves down,” he told the BBC. “It's very disappointing. We have to try and pick ourselves up and finish the season strongly.
"You can't go 1-0 up and then 2-1 down against a team like Manchester United. We can't put ourselves in that situation.
"We were dominant from the first minute and it only looked to be going one way.
For Spurs, it was their second defeat in the semi-final stages in the past two seasons, and the club’s eighth in a row.
In Pictures | Manchester United vs Tottenham | FA Cup | 21/04/2018
In Pictures | Manchester United vs Tottenham | FA Cup | 21/04/2018
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That hoodoo, capped with the fact that - despite their vast improvement under Mauricio Pochettino – Spurs are yet to win a trophy since 2008.
With more criticism set to follow, Alli admitted that Spurs cannot afford to keep throwing chances away.
"Everyone talks [about the club’s need for silverware]. We want to win trophies, we have the staff that want to win. We can't keep doing this. We can't throw it away. We have got to improve."
