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Dele Alli has broken his silence after he received a straight red card, just 10 minutes into his first professional appearance in 748 days.
The 28-year-old former Spurs and Everton midfielder made a long-awaited return to the competitive stage on Saturday night as Como came up against Serie A giants AC Milan at the San Siro.
With 81 minutes played, Alli made his Como debut as he replaced Lucas Da Cunha, which also marked his first competitive appearance since February 2023, when he featured for Besiktas against Antalyaspor.
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But soon, his debut turned into a nightmare as he was sent off for a challenge on former Chelsea man Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Alli was initially shown a yellow card by referee Matteo Marchetti but after a VAR review in stoppage time, the caution turned into a red as Kyle Walker appeared to plead with the official to show some remorse.
Speaking in his post-match interview, Como boss Cesc Fabregas ripped into the former England international.
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“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." he 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."
Fabregas added: “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.”
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On Sunday morning, Alli reacted to being sent off against AC Milan in a post on his Instagram story.
It read: "I was always going to announce my return in some way after these past two years, would rather it had been with a goal [cover face emoji] but feels good to be back [love heart emoji]."
AC Milan secured all three points with a 2-1 win over Como, who are back in action on March 29 when they take on Empoli.
