Defender Cristian Romero and Emerson Royal argued heatedly on the field during Tottenham’s 2-4 loss to Liverpool in round 36 of the Premier League.
M. Salah (16′)A. Robertson (45′)C. Gakpo (50′)Romero and Royal clashed when entering the tunnel at halftime, the match at Anfield on May 5. Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario had to run from the penalty area to separate two teammates who were tense and fighting fiercely.
On Sky Sports , Roy Keane saw the incident as a positive sign for Tottenham, but said that both Romero and Royal were weak defensively in this match. “I usually don’t mind such controversies, because it means they care about the match,” the former Man Utd midfielder commented. “But they have to show the same fierceness in defense, in the overall play of the team, which I have not seen. Tottenham played very, very badly.”
Vicario (blue shirt) ran to separate the two tense teammates and pulled Romero away. Screenshots.
Similarly, coach Ange Postecoglou said that such controversies show that Romero and Royal are not satisfied with the club’s performance. “That hurts them,” the Australian coach commented. “They will not be satisfied with the current situation just because they care and want to improve and change the situation.”
In this match, Tottenham was outmatched and led 0-4 after 60 minutes. The away team only improved the game in 20 minutes and scored two goals thanks to Richarlison and Son Heung-min respectively.
This is Tottenham’s fourth consecutive defeat , after losing to Newcastle 0-4, Arsenal 2-3 and Chelsea 0-2. These results make this London team almost lose hope of winning tickets to the Champions League. They are currently ranked fifth in the Premier League with 60 points, seven points behind Aston Villa and playing one less match.
Postecoglou was very disappointed, but thought that Tottenham had improved somewhat compared to the loss at Newcastle or Chelsea. “Those results weren’t great either, but at least today we didn’t try to play according to the philosophy,” he said. “When the score was 0-4 we had a mountain to overcome but when we played with the right quality we put pressure on the opposition. We scored two goals and could have scored two more. At least we tried to show the best version of ourselves.”
Coach Postecoglou during Tottenham’s 2-4 loss to Liverpool at Anfield in round 36 of the Premier League on May 5. Photo: Reuters
Despite the decline in form, former England and Man Utd defender Gary Neville believes that Postecoglou has improved Tottenham, especially without key striker Harry Kane, and needs to be supported and given time by the board of directors. as support on the transfer floor.
“Tottenham has style, character, personality, arrogance in the way of play and Postecoglou brings that,” Neville said on The Gary Neville podcast . “They should invest in that. Tottenham have been fourth and second at times in the last seven or eight years but fans should be really happy with the way they are fifth. Postecoglou has created many impressive moments this season”.
Keane shares this view, but believes Postecoglou faces an uphill battle to change Totenham’s fighting mentality. Meanwhile, former Liverpool and England midfielder Jamie Redknapp said that Postecoglou must help Spurs get off to a strong start next season if they want to continue in position, and warned that it will be difficult for the Australian coach to receive support like the way great rival Arsenal recruits. Declan Rice with record transfer fee.
