Alli ´shocked´ by wonder goal

Tottenham’s goal-scoring hero Dele Alli admitted he “shocked” himself with his sublime goal in the 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The 19-year-old attacking midfielder scored a stunning strike with six minutes to play at Selhurst Park, chipping the ball over a Palace defender before scoring with a volley from outside the area.

Alli, who signed for Spurs from League One side MK Dons last February and spent the rest of the 2014-15 season on loan at the third-tier outfit won his first England cap last year, but admitted even he was surprised by his sixth goal of the season.

“It was a bit of a natural thing. I didn’t really think about it too much and I sort of shocked myself – I think you could tell from my celebration, I didn’t really know what to do,” he told Spurs TV after the game.

“You can work on different kinds of finishing with volleys and stuff in training, but you can’t really replicate a game situation. It’s just the emotions you’re feeling – I like to express myself and I showed that today.”

The away victory keeps Mauricio Pochettino’s side in the hunt for their first ever Premier League title – just four points behind league leaders Leicester City – and Alli believes his side displayed resolve to respond from going behind.

“I think the lads all fought really well today and especially to come back from 1-0 down and show the determination that we did, it was a great three points in the end,” the youngster said.

“We’re a really confident side, we never stop playing until the last whistle and I think you could see that here. We have great belief in each other, we know we’ve got a great squad with great depth, players can come off the bench and change the game and I think they did that today.

“There was never really a point when we thought the game was over and we just kept fighting until the end.”