Eric Dier on Herrera elbow: “I’ll see him soon”

Tottenham Hotspur and England midfielder says he took an elbow to the face from Spain international and Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera during yesterday’s 2-2 draw between the Three Lions and Spain.

In post-match comments to the media, Dier says he hears people talking about that elbow... and he doesn’t like it.

"I don't care if someone kicks me or something like that but I've made a pass and it was a long time afterwards... he's elbowed me in the face and I just can't see why. For me, it's just ridiculous.

"I don't mind people kicking each other at times and stuff but that's just dirty and not needed.

"He's saying he didn't do it but I think it's pretty clear. If you watch it, I think it's pretty clear what he did and I can feel it on my cheek now. So I know what he did, and I don't like that kind of stuff.

"It's OK. It's just football. These things happen. But I don't know why he did it, to be honest. That's why I was angry.

"It was just strange and it's not nice."

Here’s the incident in the 86th minute of play:

It’s kind of difficult to see exactly what happened from this angle, but you can see that Herrera goes in hard on Dier and pretty much floors him. I tried to find a closer angle of the play and couldn’t do so, but either way, Dier had already passed the ball well before Herrera came blundering in and Herrera didn’t even try to pull out of the contact.

Dier, ever the diplomat, had this to say about Herrera’s role in the incident in closing: "I don't need him to apologize. I'll see him soon."

Dier’s a bit of a hard man (except when around Dele Alli) and Herrera may regret getting on his bad side. His first chance to get even on the pitch will be when Tottenham travel to Manchester to play United on December 11.