Dele Alli shines for Besiktas before sending a message to his critics
Dele Alli puts in a Man of the Match display for Besiktas as he scores in a rare start… before he sends a message to his critics by putting his fingers in his ears and shushing the Turkish giants’ fans while celebrating
- Dele Alli has endured a miserable loan spell in Turkey at Besiktas from Everton
- He has received major criticism from coaches and fans and has barely played
- But he shined on Friday and scored, before sending a message to those critics
Dele Alli sent a message to his critics as he scored and put in a Man of the Match display for Besiktas – before ‘shushing’ the Turkish side’s fans after their win on Friday night.
The English midfielder was superb in their 3-0 victory in the Turkish Super Lig over Alanyaspor after he was handed a rare start by manager Senol Gunes.
It was a much-needed performance for the former Tottenham star who has endured a miserable spell in Turkey and struggled to make an impact, appearing just 11 times before Friday, despite the fanfare that greeted his arrival.
Dele Alli put in a Man of the Match display for Besiktas on Friday and he scored on a rare start
He then seemed to send a message to critics by putting his fingers in his ears when celebrating
It also comes just weeks after Gunes had slammed Alli, and claimed ‘he doesn’t deserve to play’.
But on Friday he shined in an all-action midfield display and he scored just his second goal for the Turkish giants, after former Everton team-mate Cenk Tosun had netted twice to put them 2-0 up.
Alli capitalised on a loose pass from the Alanyaspor defence and pinched in before poking the ball home past keeper Yusuf Karagöz.
After he scored, the 26-year-old ran towards the delirious Bestikas fans before sitting on the ground cross-legged next to his team-mate Welinton.
At full-time, Alli lightheartedly ‘shushed’ the Benfica fans as they celebrated the three points
He then put both fingers in his ears, in a clear message to his critics over recent months.
Alli was substituted off after 86 minutes and received a standing ovation from the Bestikas supporters, before he appeared to send another message at full-time.
As his team celebrated on the pitch, Alli light-heartedly ‘shushed’ the Besiktas faithful.
The 26-year-old’s performance comes after news broke earlier this month that Besiktas reportedly want to send Dele Alli back to Everton due his struggles – but any return seems unlikely with there not thought to be a break clause in his loan agreement.
The report stated there was an expectation on Everton’s side that should Besiktas end the loan early, they would still be liable to pay his wages in full and the pre-agreed £1m loan fee.
Comments last week about Alli not deserving to play was not the first time Gunes has publicly called the midfielder out, with the coach slamming the Englishman for his ineffectual performances in November after hauling him off at half-time against Umraniyespor.
It was a much-needed performance from the 26-year-old after his struggles so far in Turkey
‘I couldn’t affect the players [yet], now I can easily get through to them, but we haven’t got through to Dele Alli yet,’ Gunes had said, shortly after he arrived as manager.
‘Let’s not discuss Dele Alli as a player, but he is below expectations in terms of efficiency.’
Alli was then booed from the pitch by his own fans in his side’s final game before Christmas after he was substituted in the 29th minute during a Turkish Cup game.
Besiktas boss Senol Gunes has been heavily critical of the former Tottenham star this season
He posted on social media afterwards about his love of football and how he had no intention of giving up on the sport.
Bestikas moved up to third in the Super Lig with that victory on Friday and have won five games in a row after a hugely disappointing start to the season under previous boss Valerien Ismael.
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