Tottenham Hotspur beat Middlesbrough 1-0 on Saturday evening.
Tottenham Hotspur got back to winning ways in the Premier League after two away draws as they beat Middlesbrough 1-0 at White Hart Lane on Saturday afternoon.
Spurs had drawn 2-2 to Manchester City and 0-0 at Sunderland, and having dropped points in their pursuit of the Premier League title, a win was needed against relegation-threatened Middlesbrough.
Middlesbrough’s Adama Traore in action with Tottenham’s Ben Davies
Whilst Mauricio Pochettino’s men were battering down the Middlesbrough door, they went in at half time at 0-0, with the White Hart Lane crowd anxiously awaiting the opening goal.
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Eventually, the goal did come as Heung-min Son was brought down inside the penalty area, handing Harry Kane the chance to score from the penalty spot – and he duly obliged, sending Victor Valdes the wrong way from 12 yards.
Aston Villa’s Aaron Tshibola in action with Tottenham’s Ben Davies
Middlesbrough had a couple of openings late on, but Tottenham held on for the win to remain nine points behind league leaders Chelsea, with manager Pochettino no doubt delighted with a clean sheet with a patchwork defence.
Both Jan Vertonghen and Danny Rose were missing through injury, meaning Eric Dier and Ben Davies started, with the latter handed a rare opportunity to shine.
The Welshman has started just four league games this season, but has offered able deputy to Rose, and was fairly solid against Middlesbrough as he coped well against flying winger Adama Traore.
After the game, Spurs fans took to Twitter to react to Davies’ performance, with many suggesting that he simply isn’t in the same league as Rose, and should be replaced in the summer with a left back who can offer similar attacking ability to Rose, with Davies a more defensive option.
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However, other fans felt that Davies impressed against Middlesbrough, claiming that he was solid throughout, and whilst he isn’t quite as attacking as Rose, he can offer great defensive ability when called upon.
What did you think of Davies’ performance against Middlesbrough?
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