Football
ESPN staff 6y

Dele Alli: Tottenham 'let ourselves down' by letting semifinal lead slip

Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli said Spurs "let ourselves down" in falling to Manchester United 2-1 after taking an early lead in Saturday's FA Cup semifinal.

Despite playing in their regular home venue at Wembley Stadium, Tottenham fell short at the penultimate stage of the competition for an eighth consecutive time.

Alli provided the opener in the 10th minute to put Spurs ahead, but goals in each half from Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera put United through to their record-matching 20th final appearance.

"We let ourselves down. It's very disappointing," Alli told the BBC. "We have to try and pick ourselves up and finish the season strongly.

"You can't go 1-0 up and then 2-1 down against a team like Manchester United. We can't put ourselves in that situation.

"We were dominant from the first minute and it only looked to be going one way.

"Everyone talks. We want to win trophies. We have the staff that want to win. We can't keep doing this. We can't throw it away. We have got to improve."

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said he thought his side was much superior in the first half, but reset his sights on securing a top-four place in the Premier League.

"I think every defeat is bad. It's difficult to accept but of course we are disappointed we are out and cannot achieve the final.

"We competed but not enough to win. We dominated the first half and were much better than Manchester United.

"United defended very well and so deep. We are disappointed because we are so close. We need to think, move on, finish the season and try to finish in the top four."

The defeat means Tottenham have now gone 10 years without winning a major trophy, with the the 2008 league cup their only triumph since lifting the FA Cup in 1991.

And despite being on course to qualify for the Champions League for a third straight season, Pochettino said it was still difficult to compete against England's other top clubs.

"I think we need to understand where we have come from. It's easy to talk about winning trophies," he said. "To win a trophy when you face a side like Manchester United, Chelsea or Manchester City is not easy. But the most important thing is we are able to compete."

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