Mourinho names the Tottenham player who was ‘perfect’ for Spurs last night

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has described Eric Dier’s performance against Manchester United on Friday evening as “perfect”, as reported by NBC Sports.

The Spurs boss opted to selected Dier on the left side of central defence, pairing him with Davinson Sanchez, while Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen remained on the bench.

The England international put in a good performance overall, which included a great tackle to thwart Anthony Martial, who was in a great position to strike just after the hour mark.

However, Dier conceded a clumsy penalty late on, bringing down Paul Pogba to enable Bruno Fernandes to net the equaliser from the spot, while another penalty given against him was overturned.

Despite blotting his copybook, Mourinho was nonetheless thrilled with his player’s performance, crediting him with keeping Martial out of the game.

“Eric was perfect,” the Tottenham boss is quoted by NBC Sports as saying.

“I think he had a very strong performance and he was imposing his leadership, physicality, he won absolutely every ball in the air, and won absolutely ever duel.

“It was a difficult match for Martial, we know he’s a very good player.”

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Dier has made no secret of the fact he prefers to play in defence as opposed to defensive midfield, and Mourinho duly gave him the opportunity in a high-profile game against a tough opponent.

While his performance was good – and Mourinho obviously thought this – his decision-making let him down, as shown by his error in giving away that penalty.

But there’s plenty to work with, he’ll learn from his mistake, and we’ll see whether he’ll feature once again in defence against West Ham on Tuesday.