OPINION
Eric Dier seems to get a bit of a bad rap. Fans turn on the Tottenham Hotspur star whenever he has a bad game, suddenly puzzled about what he brings to the table having been passionately extolling his virtues at the pub the previous week.
However, it is about time that the England international gets his fair dues, and that starts with applauding what was a dominant performance from the 24-year-old against Chelsea on Saturday.
Dier was superb in the middle of the park for Spurs, shielding the defence capably despite the myriad attacking threats that the Blues possess.
He was constantly snapping away at Chelsea’s players and making key tackles, as well as some truly important blocks in front of goal.
His contributions will be overshadowed by the admittedly excellent performances of Christian Eriksen, Son Hueng-min and Dele Alli, but it’s worth remembering that this Tottenham team wouldn’t fiction nearly as well without the former Sporting Lisbon man.
Alongside Alli and Moussa Sissoko in the middle of midfield there was much defensive responsibilities placed on Dier’s shoulders.
Alli is, of course, an attacking midfielder by trade, while Sissoko excels as a box-to-box threat who isn’t always as defensively disciplined as he could be.
Having said that, the Frenchman was superb on Saturday and deserves credit for his all action performance, but the presence of him and Alli in midfield meant that Dier had to remain focused throughout.
He did just that, helping to nullify Maurizio Sarri’s side as Tottenham secured a famous 3-1 victory. Dier’s display was a big part of that positive result, and his under-the-radar efforts shouldn’t be ignored – he’s now undroppable for Mauricio Pochettino.