‘You’re the one’: Jermaine Jenas says 28-year-old Tottenham player just kept giving the ball away last night

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Jermaine Jenas says Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier just kept giving the ball away on BT Sport last night.

Spurs were held to a 1-1 draw against Sporting Lisbon in north London and missed an opportunity to qualify for the last-16 of the Champions League last night.

Antonio Conte’s men were lacklustre in the first-half and fell behind after a brilliant finish from their former academy player Marcus Edwards.

Tottenham were sloppy in possession during the first 45 minutes and Jenas criticised Dier for giving the ball away far too often.

Jenas says Dier kept giving the ball away

Dier certainly got off to a shaky start to the game as he frequently misplaced his forward passes.

The 28-year-old attempted a headed pass in the 25th minute, which went straight to a Sporting player. And Jenas criticised the centre-back for his lack of composure on the ball in the first-half. 

“He’s had one too many of those, Eric Dier,” Jenas said while co-commentating on BT Sport.

“That central player of the three [at the back] at times you’re almost like a deep-lying midfield player.

“You’re the one with the big responsibility on the ball to find those passes and almost control the game from that area. He’s had one too many stray passes.”  

Dier wasn’t the only Spurs player misplacing passes during the first-half but he was certainly one of the most wasteful players on the pitch at that point.

The England international improved during the second period though, along with the rest of his teammates.

Spurs eventually found an equaliser through Rodrigo Bentancur as the Uruguayan headed the ball home from a corner in the 80th minute.

Dier had a few chances to score with his head himself, but couldn’t make the most of the opportunities.

Conte’s men thought they had found a last-minute winner when Harry Kane put the ball in the back of the net in the 94th minute. But after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was disallowed for offside. 

Spurs will now have to travel to Marseille next week and get a result or they could face dropping down to the Europa League.