Cesc Fabregas sends brutal message to Dele Alli after red card 10 minutes into comeback
03/15/2025 04:16 PM
Como head coach Cesc Fabregas took aim at Dele Alli after his player was sent off just 10 minutes into his debut for the club.
Former England international Alli signed for the Italian side on a free transfer in January and came onto the pitch with 81 minutes on the clock in Saturday night's Serie A clash against AC Milan.
It was his first appearance for any team in almost two years, last playing in February 2023 while on the books of Turkish side Besiktas.
But it was a short-lived return as his cameo appearance turned into a nightmare, shown a yellow card after catching former Chelsea midfielder and current Milan star Ruben Loftus-Cheek on the back of the ankle.
Alli was initially shown a yellow card but after a VAR check, that was upgraded to a red.
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Como were trailing 2-1, desperately chasing a winner with Fabregas turning to the former Tottenham star to find the goal that could have secured a point for his side.
Instead, the former Arsenal captain was left to rue a 'grave' mistake from Alli.
Fabregas had little sympathy for his player, describing the incident involving Loftus-Cheek as a 'tackle that hurts to watch' in his post-match press conference.
In a post-match interview with DAZN, Fabregas insisted it was 'not a mistake we should see from a player of his experience'.
Fabregas also brutally suggested Alli 'perhaps didn't deserve his opportunity' having only trained with the squad for a couple of weeks.
'It was at that moment when Milan went 2-1 up and Sergi Roberto was meant to come on, but I'd prefer to give him another two weeks to train so he can be ready to start against Empoli,' Fabregas told DAZN.
'Dele Alli is a player who can score goals, he perhaps didn't deserve this opportunity because he has only been working with us for two weeks and has a lot to improve.
'It is a grave mistake, one that we should not see from a player of his experience.
'It was a clear red card, there's nothing to be said about that, he left the team down to 10 men during a crucial moment when we were pushing for 2-2.
'That is the most negative thing about this evening, but we keep going.'
