Friday 22 December 2017 08:09, UK
Eric Dier has defended Dele Alli after the Tottenham midfielder was criticised for his late challenge on Kevin De Bruyne.
The incident happened during Spurs' 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium last Saturday. Alli caught De Bruyne's ankle with a nasty tackle in midfield, but referee Craig Dawson only showed him a yellow card.
City players and staff were upset by the decision, but speaking at Tottenham's Christmas party for young fans Dier jumped to the defence of his team-mate.
He said: "Dele is not a malicious player. He's made a tackle, the referee made a decision, gave him a yellow card and that's that really.
"You know, it's football. The speed at which it is played there are going to be bad tackles, there are going to be good tackles and that's football".
Tottenham return to Premier League action on Saturday when they visit Burnley who are a point and a place above them in the table.
That game is followed by Southampton's visit to Wembley on Boxing Day live on Sky Sports, and with matches against Swansea and West Ham also coming up over the festive season, Dier believes it is a perfect opportunity to pick up points after the setback at Manchester City.
He added: "It is a really important period for us those next four games. Obviously, we are looking to pick up all the points and we will try our best to do that."
