Premier League pundit Jim Beglin feels Eric Dier owes Ben Davies ‘a lot of credit’ after making up for his Tottenham Hotspur teammate’s error away at Wolves this Saturday.
Spurs started well at Molineux as Brennan Johnson broke the deadlock inside the first three minutes. But Dier soon presented Rayan Ait-Nouri with a chance to pull Wolves level after a poor mistake from the Tottenham centre-half. Yet Davies came to Dier and his team’s rescue.
Ait-Nouri caught Dier out as the 29-year-old stepped out of Tottenham’s makeshift backline. Spurs headed for Molineux on the back of losing Micky van de Ven until the New Year with a hamstring injury. Cristian Romero was also absent on Saturday while he serves a suspension.
Dier and Davies made up Tottenham’s makeshift defence
Dier had only featured once in the Premier League this season ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Wolves. He came on as a substitute for Johnson in Spurs’ 4-1 defeat at home to Chelsea this Monday. Ange Postecoglou reacted to Romero’s red card before then also losing Van de Ven.
Clearly, the rust was still there despite playing 56 minutes against the Blues as the 49-cap England ace faced the Old Gold. Dier’s rush of blood to the head left Ait-Nouri with a chance to haul Wolves level in the 10th minute against Tottenham. But Davies ensured he could not.
Beglin hails Davies after coming to Dier’s rescue at Wolves
Ait-Nouri made a charging run forward as Dier stepped out of Tottenham’s backline. Davies, though, came to his teammate’s rescue and stepped across to block the 22-year-old’s strike. The angled attempt may otherwise have forced Guglielmo Vicario into making an early save.
Premier League pundit Beglin believes Dier owes Davies a huge deal of gratitude for bailing him out whilst also keeping Tottenham in front at Wolves. As well as the Molineux meeting marking Dier’s first top-flight start this term, it was only Davies’ second start in six outings.
“Eric Dier owes Ben Davies a lot of credit because Dier steps out and makes the mistake,” he said on Premier League Productions (11/11, 12:45). “It’s great covering from Davies.
“There’s no way Eric Dier gets back there in time to defend against Ait-Nouri but Davies gets across really well. It’s brilliant defending.”
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