Tottenham vs Manchester City: Gary Neville praises Emerson Royal for ‘brilliant’ defending

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Gary Neville was left seriously impressed by Tottenham Hotspur wing-back Emerson Royal’s defending during the first-half against Manchester City today.

Spurs got off to a dream start in north London as Harry Kane opened the scoring with a well-taken goal.

The 29-year-old made history with his effort as he became Tottenham’s all-time top goal scorer, with 267 goals for the club. 

Tottenham were without their boss Antonio Conte but they put in a solid defensive display in the opening 45 minutes and Neville was impressed with Royal’s efforts.

Neville impressed by Royal’s defending

Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game, Neville highlighted the Brazilian’s excellent work at the back post after Kyle Walker delivered a dangerous ball into the penalty area.

Jack Grealish was arriving in the box and looked set to have a free shot at goal. But Royal produced a brilliant defensive header to deny the Englishman.

“Brilliant from both right-backs,” Neville said.

He added: “But Emerson Royal, brilliant defending. I didn’t think he was there, I thought Jack Grealish was going to steal in front of him.”

Royal starting over Tottenham’s new signing, Pedro Porro, certainly raised a few eyebrows before kick-off. But the £25 million man put in a solid performance.

The wing-back often performs well in the bigger games, mainly due to Tottenham’s approach in these kind of matches.

Spurs had to hold on to their slender lead at the end of the game after Cristian Romero was sent-off for a second bookable offence.

But Royal and the rest of Tottenham’s defence stood firm to see out what was a deserved victory on the day.