Saturday 20 August 2016 23:31, UK
Dele Alli struggled with an illness during the week and started on the bench for Tottenham's victory over Crystal Palace with one eye on a busy upcoming period of games, manager Maurcio Pochettino has explained.
Pochettino opted to play two strikers - Vincent Janssen and Harry Kane - at White Hart Lane to test out an alternative tactical system to be used more in the future.
Alli came off the bench in the second half and set up Janssen for a glorious chance to open his Spurs account on his home debut, but he missed the target, while Kane played in the number 10 role.
And Pochettino said: "We cannot play with 12 or 13 players like in basketball. If we want to play with two strikers, it's impossible to play everyone.
"We have a lot of games ahead and all can play. Dele was ill during the week; Tuesday and Wedneday he didn't train. But it's normal. He came from the Euros. We need to be careful and manage him in a good condition to avoid future problems.
"Then it was a good opportunity see both strikers Harry and Vincent. It's a natural decision. Dele is a great player and a very important one for us this season."
Pochettino insisted Kane was comfortable not playing as the furthest player forward and was afforded more space to be a threat from a deeper position.
"It's a position that he has played a lot. When I arrived here I watched him play with another striker," Pochettino said.
"He was a lot freer and had a lot more chances to shoot and score. More than Everton. I think it was a very good combination. It is one important option we have to play with both of them. It's good to have many options for the future."
