Page 3 - Tottenham 2-7 Bayern Munich: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis

#3 A mixed evening for Dele Alli, Philippe Coutinho

Coutinho made his return to London soil and displayed flashes of his brilliance, intertwined with frustration

Dele Alli and Philippe Coutinho. Two top-class playmakers who, for different reasons, haven't really been at their best in recent seasons. Glimpses of individual brilliance, short spells which justify such hype and expectation is all supporters have had to cling on to.

With that in mind, this presented a perfect opportunity for the pair to flourish in their respective colours. Alli, who has been plagued with niggling injuries, was seen doing post-match sprints after Spurs' 2-1 win over Southampton on Saturday.

An unused substitute during that nervy win, Pochettino presumably made the decision to save him for this crunch clash, where he'd been preferred to Christian Eriksen and Lucas Moura as their bonafide playmaker orchestrating behind the Kane-Son combination.

He started sluggishly and was essentially still going through the motions, but as time wore on, began grabbing the game by its neck with Spurs in the ascendancy. As evidenced by the heavy scoreline, that didn't last long. Losing the ball sloppily (62.5% accuracy), not making ample supporting runs to provide an additional option, Dele wasn't at his best.

Yet, he was still one of Tottenham's best performers on a forgettable evening. He completed two key passes, won all three of his duels and looked threatening whenever shuffling his way in-and-around the Bayern box. If not for some timely defensive interceptions under pressure and better finishing from his teammates, Alli would've had a hat-trick of assists. He offers a different outlet and although eventually replaced by Lucas with twenty minutes to play, Pochettino probably should've sacrificed Harry Winks earlier instead of his compatriot.

Coutinho better, but not perfect either

As for Coutinho, 2019 hasn't been kind to him either. Having enjoyed his best two performances of the calendar year in successive weeks against Koln and Paderborn for loan club Bayern, it made sense he'd be trusted with a similar creator-in-chief role against a Tottenham side he knows all about from his five years at Liverpool.

This was a busy but eventually useful display by the Brazilian, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses to his game in subtle ways. He prefers the freedom that comes with operating in the number ten role, but as that position is an increasingly unorthodox one in today's game, players can get lost and isolated when out of possession.

With 103 touches, 84% pass accuracy, five of eight duels won, four successful dribbles and three key passes to accompany his late deft assist for Lewandowski, this was by no mean's a poor performance.

That he relinquished possession too easily - losing the ball 23 times - regularly a first-half bystander and increasingly frustrated by Tottenham doing their homework on his tendencies to drift infield and cut onto his stronger right foot was a problem. One that he'll need to work on going forward, if he's to cement his credentials as the missing link Bayern have longed for.