Mourinho happy to see Alli return to best form

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho said he was delighted to see midfielder Dele Alli rediscover his best form following his impressive display in their 4-0 win over Austrian club Wolfsberg in the Europa League.

Alli has fallen down the pecking order under Mourinho, not starting a Premier League game since the opening day of the season, but stole the limelight on Wednesday with a sensational overhead kick and two assists.

"In this moment when we are going to play every three days, 10 matches in March, to have Dele back at this level is amazing," Mourinho said after his side progressed to the last-16 with an 8-1 aggregate victory.

"The (overhead) goal I don't need to speak (about) because everyone watched it ... But for me, the globality of the performance is what matters.

"He played very well in every aspect of the game."

While Gareth Bale's lack of minutes since his return on loan from Real Madrid has been largely down to fitness issues, according to Mourinho, Alli's fall from grace has been harder to explain.

But on Wednesday he offered a reminder of the ability that catapulted him into Tottenham's first team as a teenager in 2015 and made him an England regular.

"Dele had a difficult period, he had an injury, at the same time was the talk about him staying or leaving, the market closed, the injury's gone and he starts working with lots of motivation," Mourinho said of Alli's virtuoso display.

"It's coming and that's what we need. He is playing very well. Of course, the goal was beautiful but the assists and the hard work means more for me."

Tottenham have lost five of their last six Premier League games but enjoyed much-needed European respite to progress in a competition which looks like their most realistic route back into the Champions League.

- Reuters