Tottenham Hotspur supporters will surely be furious to see this footage of Eric Dier’s apparent mistake from their latest defeat, which was aired live on Sky Sports.
Spurs kept up their fascinating run of form, although their fans will see it as extremely frustrating, of winning a game and then immediately losing the next one when Manchester United beat them 3-2.
Can Dier become world class?
Yes!
No!
Antonio Conte’s side found themselves behind on three separate occasions during the match on Saturday evening and the very first one perhaps set the tone, when Cristiano Ronaldo hammered one into the top corner, before netting two more later on.
Despite his first strike being a cracker, it arguably could have been stopped had Eric Dier closed him down, instead of just standing off him and almost inviting him to take the shot on, something that should be inexcusable for a Premier League centre back.
TIF Thoughts on Dier and his mistake…
It will be very disappointing for Tottenham fans to see Eric Dier make what may now be deemed as a big mistake given how consistent he’s been under Conte, who clearly rates him very highly claiming that Dier could go on to be one of the best defenders in the world.
Of course, Ronaldo may still have somehow found a way to find the back of the net if Dier had made an effort to close him down, but the fact that he stood off him for so long allowed him all the time in the world to set himself.
If Conte and Tottenham are to be serious challengers for the top four or even just a spot in the Europa League next season they can’t be making simple mistakes such as the one Dier made as they will get punished, just like they did on Saturday and that defeat now has them six points behind fourth place and five off fifth.
In other news: Matt Doherty issues four-word message to Spurs teammates