Paul Robinson insists Manchester United’s penalty against Tottenham last Friday was “really soft” but slammed Eric Dier’s “poor defending” that led to the equaliser.
Spurs started well and took the lead through Steven Bergwijn before Dier’s blunder let the Red Devils back into the game.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Spurs star blamed the 26-year-old for his “bad defending” that gave Paul Pogba the chance to win a penalty. With nine minutes left on the clock, the Frenchman surged past Dier and the defender clumsily hauled him down in the box (BBC). Bruno Fernandes sealed a draw by sending Hugo Lloris the wrong way.
Robinson told Football Insider’s Dylan Childs: “It is poor defending from Eric Dier. He has let Pogba get the wrong side of him and then leaned on him. It has given the referee the option to give a penalty.
“Tottenham will think it is soft but Eric Dier has done enough. It has gone to VAR but there is not enough evidence to overrule it even though it is really soft.
“You can see why the ref has given it and it has to be clear and obvious to overturn it. He did slightly push him.On the flip side if it had not been given as a penalty, VAR would not have overturned it. It has to be fact to overturn it.
“But it is bad defending from Eric Dier in the first place.”
It is hard to argue with Robinson here, as Dier’s mistake effectively cost Tottenham a winning return to the Premier League on Friday. Despite his calamitous error, the Englishman played the full 90 minutes, although Jose Mourinho came close to regretting that decision when Dier collided with Fernandes later on (BBC).
The centre-back struggled against the Red Devils, as he only won two out of six ground duels, committed three fouls and finished the game with a below-par statistical rating of 6.3 via SofaScore.
As it stands, Spurs are eighth in the table, four points behind Man United and nine points away from fourth-placed Chelsea. However, there are still eight games left to play and Mourinho will need his side to be at their very best if they are to qualify for the Champions League next season.
The Lilywhites haven’t won a game in the last seven fixtures in all competitions, which is the club’s worst run since November 2016. Spurs next face West Ham tonight in what is surely a must-win game where they cannot afford sloppy errors like the one from Dier on Friday.
Tottenham fans, is Robinson right to slam Dier over the penalty incident on Friday? Let us know by commenting below!
