If it weren’t for Cristian Romero, Tottenham could have been thrashed.
“Enze Postecoglou has praised Cristian Romero and suggested that other Tottenham Hotspur players should follow his example,” The Athletic reported on Sept. 29 (ET).
Tottenham lost 2-3 to Arsenal in the 35th round of the 2023/24 English Premier League (EPL) season at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on Aug. 28 (ET). In the match, Romero played the full time and led the defense.
Tottenham’s continued weakness on set pieces led to an early 0-3 deficit with an own goal from Hojbjerg. But in the second half, Spurs began to pull away, and it was Romero’s goal that started it all.
In the 18th minute of the second half, Arsenal goalkeeper Raya received a backpass and tried to play the ball to an unmarked Pati, but was tripped up by Romero, who finished easily to make it 1-3.
Tottenham weren’t done there. In the 40th minute, Ben Davies and Rice got into a tussle in the Arsenal box, and Rice kicked Ben Davies in the thigh. Referee Oliver awarded a PK after VAR, and Son Heung-min finished to make it 2-3 and end the game.
The most disappointing player of the game was Romero. Romero was the best player in the game, not only in defense, but also in the midfield and in the buildup. Romero finished with a 97% passing success rate, 10 offensive zone passes, 2 caused turnovers, 3 recoveries, 62% ground ball wins, and 83% aerial ball wins for a rating of 7.7.
Postecoglou also recognized Romero’s performance. “He was amazing,” Postecoglou said. He’s a World Cup winner and he has to pass on what’s in him to the other players,” he raved.
Postecoglou was also disappointed to lose the must-win North London derby. “It’s disappointing, the result is disappointing, we wanted to win today 토토사이트 for the supporters and for the club and we didn’t do that. I thought our overall football was good and decent. We dominated the game for long periods of time for the most part and we know we are a team capable of doing that.”
He continued, “This is a process of getting from where we are to where we want to be. We are still not fully focused on the details. Arsenal are where they are right now. They are a team that is good at details and we are not at that level at the moment.”
Spurs are over the first hurdle, but there are still plenty more to come. They will face Liverpool, Burnley, and Man City in a row, starting with Chelsea on May 3 (ET).