Eric Dier has defended Dele Alli following his late challenge on Kevin De Bruyne by insisting that his Tottenham Hotspur teammate "is not a malicious player".

The 21-year-old was criticised for his lunge on De Bruyne during last weekend's 4-1 defeat to Manchester City, from which he escaped with just a yellow card from referee Craig Pawson.

Spurs midfielder Dier believes that the incident looked worse than it actually was, however, and insists that fellow England international Alli would never set out to intentionally injure an opponent.

"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," Sky Sports News quotes him as saying.

"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".

Harry Kane was also condemned for his mistimed challenge on winger Raheem Sterling in the same match.