Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham team are recapturing their early season form once again thanks in part to the two men who seemed outcasted as recently as January – Dele Alli and Gareth Bale.
Spurs made it three wins in a row against Fulham and four wins from their last five thanks to Dele forcing an own goal from Tosin Adarabioyo in the first half, in a game where the north Londoners looked dangerous throughout.
Harry Kane missed a big chance with a header, while Bale and Heung-Min Son seemed to strike up a good partnership from opposing flanks too with their out-to-in runs to threaten the Fulham defence.
It’s a sharp turn in fortunes for Mourinho’s side, who prior to this little run had lost five of their last six games to find themselves in mid-table with a mountain to climb in the race for the top four in the Premier League.
After the January transfer window came to an end, Dele was frustrated that he wasn’t given the opportunity to leave the club with PSG strongly rumoured to be interested in taking him across the waters as Mauricio Pochettino looked to bolster his new squad.
Mourinho claimed that he had a conversation with the midfielder about working his way back into the team and it seems to have worked a treat, with the 24-year-old getting a goal and two assists in the Europa League before making a substitute appearance against Burnley then earning his first start in the league since the opening day in this game.
Bale on the other hand had been given plenty of opportunities in the first half of the season but really struggled to make a mark on the squad following his move from Real Madrid.
He looked off the pace constantly, with a clear lack of speed in his game while his execution and work-rate wasn’t where it needs to be for a side looking to compete at the top end of the Premier League.
Since the end of the transfer window though, the Welsh winger has seemingly found himself once again and become a key man in the Spurs attack with four goals and three assists in his last five appearances in all competitions.
He’s started to find his passing range once again while he seems to have adjusted his style slightly to be able to make more of an impact despite his new physical capabilities.
As Spurs head into a weekend fixture against Crystal Palace before a Europa League tie with Dinamo Zagreb, Mourinho will be hopeful that the form of his two attackers can act as “new signings” to boost the squad for a strong finish to the end of the campaign ahead of next month’s Carabao Cup final.
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