Micah Richards throws gauntlet down to Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli, following Liverpool

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Regular Sky Sports pundit and former Manchester City defender, Micah Richards, has told Radio 5 Live tonight that Dele Alli needs to follow up his latest Tottenham performance against Liverpool.

Alli was in fine form as he returned to the starting XI. He probably should have scored, but on the whole, Antonio Conte will have been delighted with what he saw from his man.

Nevertheless, it was just the single good showing from Alli. And Richards, speaking live on air tonight, has challenged the former MK Dons star to start producing the goods more regularly.

“I’ve backed Dele Alli for years. It was nice to see him back to something like his best. But he needs to follow it up with another good performance. We can’t have one performance, then go missing for four or five games,” Richards said.

“In that system, it helps him. He can make the third man run into the box. He’s got legs around him to cover. So yeah, long may it continue. We just want to see more of it now, and more consistency.”

Alli will be hoping his performance has convinced Conte that he has something to offer Spurs. For so long it’s looked like his career is over. However, there is a glimmer of hope for now at least.

TBR’s View: Richards Right To Question Alli

Micah Richards is bang on here. While it’s all well and good putting in a good performance, the time is now for Alli to really step up and do it regularly.

Of course, to do that he’ll need to be given more chances in the first XI. But if he is given those opportunities, then he is the only one who can exploit them.

Sunday’s game against Liverpool was a start. But as Richards says, it is just that for Dele Alli.