Dele Alli had an evening to forget on Wednesday after a horror miss in Everton's pre-season friendly against MLS side Minnesota United. If that wasn't bad enough for the former Spurs man, his new club fell to a crushing 4-0 defeat in the second game of their US summer tour.
Starting the match on the bench as Frank Lampard rotated his team, Alli was introduced at the start of the second half with the Toffees already three goals down. The attacking midfielder had a glorious chance to reduce the deficit in the 74th minute, with Mason Holgate picking up him out right in front of goal with a low cross from the right.
Unmarked and with the goal at his mercy, Alli couldn't sort his feet out three yards from goal and the ball bounced off him and somehow went wide. It was an incredible miss and one he will still be questioning how on earth he didn't score.
READ MORE: Ivan Perisic's classy touch as Joe Rodon gives him his Tottenham shirt number for new season
Ahead of the game the 26-year-old enjoyed a rather touching moment with a group of Minnesota Spurs fans when warming up. With a smattering of Tottenham fans in the crowd, they greeted the player with his famous Tottenham chant, as can be seen here on Reddit.
Alli did look back towards the group with a big smile on his face before giving them the thumbs up. It really was a nice gesture and one he wouldn't have been expecting.
As is always the case when Everton play, the Liverpool Echo rated the players on their performance. While they did not hand out any ratings for the pre-season friendly, Alli's assessment, understandably, wasn't the best following his time on the pitch.
They wrote: "It might only be pre-season, but he might be thinking about *that* miss for a little while. Otherwise, he clearly showed his frustration on a number of occasions with some tasty challenges on his opponents."
Alli will have to wait until October to come up against his former club for the first time in 2022/23, with a showdown at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium pencilled in for Saturday, October 15. The reverse fixture at Goodison Park then takes places later in the season on Saturday, April 1.
READ NEXT:
Djed Spence's first words on Tottenham transfer, Ryan Sessegnon and what he will bring to Spurs
- Tottenham news and transfers LIVE: All the latest updates and rumours from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
- Full Tottenham Premier League fixture list for 2022/23
Antonio Conte's dream 25-man Tottenham squad if Fabio Paratici pulls off James Maddison transfer
Tottenham next transfer priorities clear amid Premier League and Champions League squad rules
