Dele: "I thought ‘oh no, not Serge!’"

Dele Alli may have thought the worst when Serge Aurier brought his right foot back 25 yards out against Tranmere – but we’re all now delighted he went for it!

The Ivory Coast star let rip a beauty into the top corner to break the deadlock after 40 minutes of what had been a test against a stubborn Rovers side in the FA Cup third round at Prenton Park on Friday night.

Serge’s strike paved the way for a clinical second half display where we ran up a Club record away win, 7-0. Fernando Llorente led the way with a hat-trick, Serge added his second with Heung-Min Son and Harry Kane also on target.

Captain on the night, Dele said: “To be honest when he lined-up for it I was a bit ‘oh no, not Serge! Don't hit it’ but he’s a fantastic player, great quality. He’s a bit hit and miss with those long strikes but today it came off and we’re thankful because they made it very difficult for us and sometimes it takes quality like that to change the game and turn it around.

“These games are very difficult, we’re away at Tranmere, they worked so hard in the first half and you could see how difficult they made it for us. There was a lot of space but it’s not always easy, they come together quickly and work hard. These games aren’t easy. Serge scored the first goal and after that it was important we kept our composure. We made a few changes tactically at half-time and they seemed to work.”

Dele was at his lowest ebb after last season’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United but we’re up and running again in the famous old competition and still alive in all four – Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Indeed, we take on Chelsea in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final at Wembley on Tuesday (8pm).

“All we can do is win the games that we get and that’s what we did at Tranmere,” he added. “This wasn’t an easy game and now we get ready for the next one.

“There are a lot of games in the Premier League, Champions League and cups but we can’t make excuses, this is what we want to be part of, so we have to prepare ourselves for the next game and see who we get in the next round.”