Dele Alli insists he did not intend to kick Fiorentina’s Nenad Tomovic in Tottenham’s 1-1 Europa League draw in Italy on Thursday – but is adamant he will not take the ‘aggressive streak’ out of his game.
The 19-year-old was lucky to escape with a yellow card for lashing out at the defender in the first half of the last-32 tie.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino said he would review the video of the incident and talk to Alli, who has had an exceptional season but has already accumulated nine yellow cards in all competitions.
He was also accused of stamping on Yohan Cabaye by Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew last month.
But Alli is adamant he did not intend to kick Tomovic and claimed he will not be altering his game.
He said: ‘It was not deliberate. I would never do that. Football always gets a bit heated but we shook hands and that’s fine. I told him what happened, he said it was okay and we moved on. I explained it to him and we leave it behind now.’
The former MK Dons midfielder added: ‘Coming from League One, a lot of tackles go in and that is where I’ve learned my trade.
‘My personality is that I like to express myself and that is not something I will look to change. Do you need an aggressive streak to thrive? You could say that. A lot of the great players have that mentality.
‘I want to be the best I can and if that’s what I need to do it, that’s what I do.’
The other side of Alli’s game was brilliantly obvious in Florence, with the teenager the best player on the pitch as Tottenham took an away goal back to White Hart Lane.
Discussing the Tomovic incident on Thursday night, Pochettino said: ‘We need to look at the video and try to teach him.
‘He is a young player and he has a lot to learn about elite football. It is his first season in the Premier League, at Tottenham. He came from League One and he needs to learn a lot, to still learn.
‘But I didn’t see it myself. Some people say yes, some say no. I don’t know.’
