Mauricio Pochettino says Dele Alli “needs to learn” that diving isn’t helpful

Tottenham Hotspur were very impressive in today’s 4-0 victory over Huddersfield Town. Spurs started very well, and would’ve won by more if they hadn’t taken their foot off the gas.

But the one downside of the match was Dele Alli’s ugly dive in the 58th minute. Mauricio Pochettino has since had his say on the issue. To say the least, he wasn’t impressed with the simulation.

Poch is absolutely right. Spurs were already up 3-0, and the dive was just lazy and obvious. Plus, now there are consequences for diving. Dele was shown a yellow card, but players can now retroactively be suspended for diving if the flop was missed by the referee during the game. It’s an action that can often end up hurting a team more than it helps them.

There’s a difference between going to the ground after contact, and a complete outright dive. Surely Mauricio will have had a little talk with Alli about that in the aftermath of this incident.

Dele let some of his frustration get the better of him. He had a solid game, and was unlucky not to get a goal.

But the bottom line is that Dele doesn’t need to resort to stuff like this. He’s an incredibly talented player who can succeed without violating the integrity of the game.