Rio Ferdinand was very impressed by the performance of Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen in the 2-2 draw against Juventus on Tuesday night.
The Danish playmaker grabbed Spurs’ second goal of the night to ensure his side not only earned a memorable draw but went into the second leg with two away goals to their name.
Tottenham are set to play Juventus on March 7 in the second leg of their Champions League clash at Wembley.
Ferdinand, when talking on BT Sport following the game, was not just impressed by Eriksen grabbing his side a vital away goal but praised his ability to take responsibility for his side.
“What I liked today is he took the mantle of being the man with the responsibility to create the openings,” stated the BT Sport pundit.
“I think that’s something that has been lacking when ever we watched him in big games in the Premier League.
“He has done it for his country when they needed him to drag them through to tournaments but for Spurs this may be the coming of age for him tonight in a big game like this, being at the centre of every good piece of football for this Spurs team.”
Eriksen has featured 33 times across all competitions for Spurs this season, and has scored nine goals as well as registered eight assists.
OPINION
Eriksen’s performance certainly helped Tottenham have a memorable night in Turin on Tuesday. The 26-year-old alongside fellow midfielder Mousa Dembele help run the game for Spurs, and they were both key to their side earning a 2-2 draw. Eriksen has always consistently impressed for Tottenham since joining in 2013, but he did appear to take his game to another level on Tuesday. The midfielder’s performance was reminiscent of his display for Denmark against the Republic of Ireland in November. In that game, Eriksen arguably ensured his country qualified for the World Cup single-handily by scoring a hat-trick. If the Dane is able to put in a similar performance against Juventus in the second leg, Spurs should have no issues qualifying for the quarter-finals.