Exactly three years before Dele Alli scored twice in Tottenham Hotspur’s historic and deserved 3-1 defeat of Real Madrid on Wednesday, the midfielder was dusting himself off following a goal-scoring outing against Swindon Town.

The meteoric and seemingly unstoppable rise of Alli was questioned lately when he staged a summer auction for a new agent after ditching his former representative Rob Segal. Instead of being grounded by his beginnings as a raw, third-tier hopeful with Milton Keynes Dons, naysayers claimed his head was turned by avarice that he hoped would be satisfied via an agent who could negotiate a generous pay packet and, eventually, a lucrative transfer from north London.

His efforts against Manchester United on Saturday – letting the likes of Ashley Young get under his skin and spurning what could have been the match-winning goal – further supplemented accounts insisting he was distracted by off-the-pitch matters.

He hadn’t covered himself in glory before the United game either, picking up a suspension for allegedly showing the referee his middle finger when on international duty, and being accused of diving in Huddersfield.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

The fact that Spurs’ visit from Los Blancos was Alli’s first Champions League outing of the season was another stick to beat the Englishman with. His petulance resulted in the first red card of his career against Genk last February – a dangerous, high chop at Brecht Dejaegere – and a subsequent suspension which ran until Wednesday’s wrangle. With a pinch and a few barbed words, Alli’s fiery streak can come to the fore, and this is something he will have to control. If it isn’t tamed, he’ll cost his team matches just like he did that night at Wembley.

‘Winter is coming’

His manager Mauricio Pochettino, however, was never concerned that Alli was risking not fulfilling his promise with indiscipline and a lust for cash. In fact, he believed the 21-year-old’s best performances were just around the corner.

“He is motivated now. His internal motivation is higher now to try to compete at his best level. I am not worried about him,” Pochettino told The Telegraph’s Jeremy Wilson on Tuesday.

“I think he needs to enjoy playing football. He will show his character and personality like he did against Manchester United. I think he is calm. He feels (it) too, because he is disappointed with himself that he’s not at his best but it’s coming. Like the winter is coming.”

When Alli’s head is completely in the game, he plays with a tactical maturity that belies his tender years. His versatility is a trait Pochettino adores. The Argentinian first deployed Alli as a traditional box-to-box midfielder, exhibiting the youngster’s similar qualities to his hero Steven Gerrard. He’s since flourished when shadowing Harry Kane, making late dashes into the box with the ball at his feet or to meet a wicked delivery from Tottenham’s contingent of forward-thinking full-backs.

Against Real Madrid, he was an intelligent infiltrator of space. He somehow continually found around one of the most formidable squads ever assembled. Incredibly, Alli should’ve scored a hat-trick against the back-to-back Champions League winner.

His showing was undeniably cocksure, but when it’s channelled correctly, it can deliver performances that add credence to arguments that he can grow into a world-class talent. It’s a quirk that doesn’t necessarily shackle precocious talent: Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t exactly shy of his own reflection.

“It was a fantastic performance from us,” Alli said post-match. “We knew if we stuck to the game plan and stayed solid at the back, we would have a lot of chances. We spoke after the game at their place and couldn’t believe the space we had. The easy pass was sometimes too obvious at times. We don’t want to compete with these teams, we want to be winning.”

Alli managed to overshadow local hero Kane’s triumphant, speedy return from injury and Christian Eriksen’s ever-artful work. But, most tellingly, it was an evening that showed the spellbinding acts Alli is capable of when he’s focused and not distracted.

If the reports are true, Alli, be warned. For athletes who follow the temptations that sports dangle in front of their noses, the fall can be much lower than Swindon Town.

ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Redskins have ruled out three starters, including tight end Jordan Reed, and declared two others as doubtful for Sunday’s game at Seattle, further depleting a team that has dealt with a number of injuries in recent weeks.

In addition to Reed, who is battling a hamstring injury, left guard Shawn Lauvao (stinger) and defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis (hand) won’t play. Reserve tight end Niles Paul (concussion) also was ruled out.

Left tackle Trent Williams (knee) and center Spencer Long (knees) are doubtful, along with backup offensive tackle Ty Nsekhe (core muscle).

Meanwhile, six players were listed as questionable, including five starters: wide receiver Jamison Crowder (hamstring), guard Brandon Scherff (knee), running back Rob Kelley (ankle), cornerback Bashaud Breeland (groin) and safety Montae Nicholson (shoulder).

In all, three-fifths of the Redskins’ starting offensive line won’t play, and a fourth, Scherff, is questionable. But Scherff at least participated in practice the past two days, though in limited fashion. Coach Jay Gruden had said Thursday that “things are looking up” in regard to Scherff, and Friday did nothing to alter that outlook.

Crowder could be the biggest question mark. Gruden expressed concern Thursday, and Crowder said his focus remains on the long term. He was hampered by a sore hamstring early in the season but said in recent weeks that it had felt good.

“I don’t want to make it worse and have it lingering for the rest of the season,” Crowder said. “It’s kind of tricky. It feels good at times, and then I go out and work, and it doesn’t feel like bad, but it doesn’t feel I can be as explosive to [where] I feel I can go out and compete at a high level.”

If Crowder can’t play, Ryan Grant could replace him in the slot. Washington also could keep Brian Quick active and use him at the Z receiver position. The Redskins have wanted to avoid using Terrelle Pryor and Josh Doctson together, with Gruden saying they have primarily worked at the X position. But losing Reed and possibly Crowder could force them to look more for Doctson and Pryor, who had a combined four targets Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Cristiano Ronaldo avoided criticising the crop of new players that have recently arrived at Real Madrid after Wednesday’s loss to Tottenham, but conceded that the defending European champion is suffering from a lack of experience.

On the heels of a decisive 3-1 loss to Spurs – Real Madrid’s first group stage defeat since 2012 – and a disappointing defeat to Girona in La Liga last weekend, Ronaldo reflected on the aspects that helped fuel Los Blancos to back-to-back Champions League titles, and identified the losses of Pepe, Alvaro Morata, and James Rodriguez as major factors behind the team’s recent struggles.

“The players who have arrived have a lot of potential but Pepe, Morata, and James made us stronger and the players are younger now,” Ronaldo told reporters, according to Richard Martin of Reuters.

“Our squad isn’t worse, but it’s less experienced and experience is very important. But it’s no excuse and we shouldn’t be alarmed.”

All three players were offloaded this past summer. Pepe joined Turkish side Besiktas, while Morata was sold to Chelsea for £60 million. Rodriguez was shipped off to Germany, where he has begun to feature more frequently for Bayern Munich since joining the defending Bundesliga champion on a two-year loan deal.

(Photo courtesy: Getty)

Real Madrid’s starting team Wednesday was comprised mainly of the stars that have helped add silver to Real Madrid’s trophy case. But the inclusion of 18-year-old defender Achraf Hakimi and second-choice goalkeeper Kiko Casilla in the starting XI, as well as a bench with an average age of 20, backs Ronaldo’s claim that Real Madrid lacks experience.

Despite the consecutive losses, Ronaldo would not get caught up in talk of a crisis and cited the tremendous success since manager Zinedine Zidane took charge of Real Madrid.

“People forget about the good times very quickly. I never talk of a crisis, you can lose three or four games but there’s never a crisis. We can’t forget what we’ve achieved,” he said.

“This is a bad run but we want to turn things around and I’m sure we will. This is only the start of the season, we still have a lot of time to improve and I‘m convinced we will.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The DeMarco Murray to Dallas rumors picked up before this year’s trade deadline, primarily due to Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension. Murray heard them, and understood them, but he’s still the Titans’ starting running back and he plans it to remain that way for the rest of his career.

“That was all speculation by social media fans and obviously, people talking about the whole Dallas deal,” said Murray, who was acquired by the Titans in a March 2016 trade with the Philadelphia Eagles “I’m happy here. They’re happy to have me here. I’ve been fortunate to be a part of the Titans organizations for the last two years and I see myself retiring here and being an asset here moving forward.”

“The chances of me going back there is probably closer to Roger Staubach coming back and playing for them.”

DeMarco Murray on chances of a return to Dallas

Fans began speculating about a Murray to Dallas trade after Ed Werder tweeted that Murray “heard rumblings” that he could be traded and noted his connection to Dallas.

“That’s been circulating every year since I left there,” Murray said to the ‘rumblings’ report. “The chances of me going back there is probably closer to Roger Staubach coming back and playing for them.”

Murray said it wouldn’t have been bad to take a handoff from Staubach, who retired from the NFL in 1980, eight years before Murray was born, but he enjoys taking handoffs from Marcus Mariota a little more.

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  The NFLPA filed a motion on behalf of Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, seeking an emergency injunction to prevent the NFL from enforcing Elliott’s six-game suspension.