Eric Dier hands Spurs narrow win and sends 10-man Cardiff bottom

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:27 am

Eric Dier scored his first Premier League goal since April 2017 as Tottenham Hotspur defeated Cardiff City 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Dier handed Tottenham the lead in the eighth minute when a header by Davinson Sanchez was blocked and the ball fell for Dier to tap in from six yards out.

Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura missed good chances to extend Spurs' lead before half-time as a nervous energy began to take hold of the home crowd.

Cardiff created chances and came close to equalising in the second half when Josh Murphy raced through and lifted the ball over Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who was making his first Premier League start since August. However, defender Toby Alderweireld was able to clear off the line.

Cardiff, looking for their first win of the season, were reduced to 10 men in the 57th minute when Joe Ralls was sent off for a lunge on Moura.

They still threatened, with Lloris tipping a Sean Morrison header on to the post from a floated free kick.

Spurs failed to take advantage of the extra man, but they saw out their third consecutive league victory.

"After [losing to] Barcelona on Wednesday, the most important thing was to win," Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said. "I think we fully deserved to win. We created a lot of chances [but] we didn't kill the game.

"But I am happy to finish and to go into the international break with 18 points. One point to the top is fantastic. Of course, we can always improve."

At the other end of the table, the situation looks bleak for Cardiff, who only have two points from eight games.

Manager Neil Warnock was pleased with his team's performance but was frustrated with the sending-off, and accused Tottenham's players of influencing the referee's decision.

"I thought Mike Dean, experienced referee, was going to give a yellow card right from the start," Warnock told Sky Sports. "I'll be very surprised when I speak to him if he would've given the red card [without influence], because I think he was wrong. He was wrong.

"But when 20 players surround you, all wearing a white shirt, all big-name players, I think it influences them at times and it would be interesting to see if he reports that."