England and Tottenham Hotspur cult hero Eric Dier has described one of Manchester City’s teams under Pep Guardiola as “the scariest” he has faced to this day.
Manchester City have had numerous vintage teams over the years, from Roberto Mancini’s pioneers of 2010-12 to several Pep Guardiola iterations.
As a veteran of club and international football, Eric Dier has played alongside, and against, the very best players of his generation.
And despite having a huge selection of opponents he can call upon, the Man City side from one particular era remains firmly in his memory.
Eric Dier says late-2010s Manchester City team remain the ‘scariest’ he has ever faced
Dier was the latest guest on the Fozcast, Ben Foster’s podcast, and he discussed various aspects of his career.
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When asked about the scariest team he faced, Dier went with the Man City side from the late 2010s.
Dier named a host of players from those days, including former Spurs teammate Kyle Walker.
“Yeah, that was the scariest team… I can name the team, you know? For me, that was the best.”
Foster asked Dier whether he meant the teams in which David Silva played, to which he agreed.
The retired goalkeeper mentioned the 2016/17 campaign, but Dier named Walker, whose first season at City was the 2017/18 campaign.
“Walks played right-back then, Walker,” said Dier.
“And then it was like, obviously [Vincent] Kompany had his fitness thing, but it was like [Nicolas] Otamendi, Kompany and Stones.
“And then it was Fabian Delph left-back, and then Fernandinho, Silva, [Kevin] De Bruyne, and then [Leroy] Sane, Sterling, Aguero.
“That was by far the scariest team I played against!”
How Eric Dier fared against Manchester City
Eric Dier’s overall record against Man City is not too bad – he has eight wins, one draw and nine defeats under his belt.
However, there were two seasons in which Dier’s Tottenham lost both league games against City – the 2017/18 and 2018/19 campaigns.
Indeed, Spurs were hammered 4-1 and 3-1 in the 2017/18 season, so Dier is likely referring to that particular City side.
Tottenham also lost to City in both league fixtures the following season, but they were more respectable from Spurs’ perspective – both 1-0 defeats.