Euro 2020 - Billy Gilmour praised by Jose Mourinho, Steve Clarke after Scotland drew with England
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ByEurosport
Published 19/06/2021 at 09:19 GMT
Billy Gilmour won plenty of fans after his composed display in central midfield for Scotland in their goalless draw wth England at Wembley Stadium on Friday night. Scotland boss Steve Clarke praised the 20-year-old after the game and Jose Mourinho felt the Chelsea midfielder was the difference maker on the night.
'We have a genuine chance of qualifying' - Clarke delighted at silencing critics
Scotland manager Steve Clarke praised the performance of Billy Gilmour as Scotland fought hard to earn a 0-0 draw with England at Wembley Stadium on Friday night.
After losing their opening game to Czech Republic, Scotland remain in contention to qualify for the knockout stages of Euro 2020 after securing their first point of the campaign thanks to the goalless draw with the Three Lions.
Chelsea's Gilmour, who only turned 20 last Friday, was surprisingly given his full debut and was placed in the heart of the Scotland midfield.
Manager Steve Clarke was delighted with his Man of the Match performance and that of his right-back Stephen O'Donnell.
"I thought Stephen O’Donnell was exceptional,” he said post-match.
"Billy was just behind him. It was nice for Billy to get that start – big platform, big stage, big player. We’ve said for a long time he was part of the future of Scottish football.
We know what we’ve got in the camp and we will try to manage him properly and keep a lid on things. Performances like that will do him no harm whatsoever.
Clarke said he felt at ease with his decision to start Gilmour.
"I don’t think there is any risk when you have somebody of Billy Gilmour’s talent," he said.
"When you put him on the pitch you expect him to do what he did. He held the ball for us and allowed us to play through the midfield.
"I didn’t think it was a risk for the balance of the rest of the team. We were ready to support Billy in his role and I think we did that.”
Roma head coach Jose Mourinho, who is working as a pundit over the tournament, said Gilmour was "the difference" in the game.
"The kid Gilmour in midfield, he made the difference," the Portuguese boss told TalkSPORT.
"He was fantastic. He was always moving, always showing, he wanted the ball, he was turning under pressure. He linked the game much, much better."
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