Thomas Frank has made a point of encouraging his Tottenham Hotspur players to applaud the home support after the final whistle, but there have been few occasions in the Premier League when this gesture has been gratefully received.
Despite losing 2-1 to Liverpool on Saturday — their fifth home defeat of the league season and a record 11th this calendar year — large sections of the South Stand were on their feet to applaud the team, who fought to try to rescue an unlikely result. Even after going down to nine men, Tottenham pushed for an equaliser, with the defending Premier League champions buckling under their pressure and the noise coming from the stands.
Truthfully, however, the circumstances leading up to those final moments were ludicrous.
Spurs responded well to the first red card. Xavi Simons was dismissed in the 33rd minute after catching his Netherlands national-team captain Virgil van Dijk late and on his calf, with referee John Brooks upgrading an initial booking after VAR recommended he consult the pitchside monitor.
The 10 men rode out the first half, even offering a threat on the counter-attack, before their defence was breached just before the hour through substitute Alexander Isak. It was at this point in proceedings that Tottenham club captain Cristian Romero, so often the main character, thrust himself into the limelight again.
Unusually for a player who has achieved so much in the game, the general perception within the Spurs world is that the Argentina international centre-back is underrated within the English game. For every neutral Premier League follower on social media who describes two-time Copa America winner and 2022 World Cup champion Romero as hot-headed and unreliable, there will be countless Tottenham fans defending their skipper.
“He’s actually not a loose cannon.”
“He’s actually not been sent off since 2023.”
“He’s actually our most important player.”
Their backing of him is so robust because they know how important Romero is to the team’s success. When he plays well, Spurs tend to play well too.
Alongside the intensity and crunching tackles, Romero’s line-breaking passing is vital, with several successful instances in the first half on Saturday setting Tottenham away on attacking moves through the middle of the pitch — something they cannot do when he is not around. For that reason, the 27-year-old’s miscued pass leading to Isak’s goal can almost be excused. If Spurs are to be successful, Frank needs Romero to play those kinds of balls.
What Spurs could do without, however, was his reaction to that moment.
As he often does when Tottenham are chasing a result, Romero then vacated his position and went hunting for possession, finding himself anywhere from the right wing to being in advance of striker Randal Kolo Muani, breaking the team’s structural integrity. While the home side were searching for a goal, perhaps requiring a more urgent approach to their forward play, having a central defender in striker positions — particularly one who is so crucial to the team’s build-up — seems sub-optimal when a man down.
He was also on the scene for Liverpool’s second, a header from striker Hugo Ekitike in the 66th minute.
While the goal perhaps should have been ruled out, with Frank saying in his post-match press conference that it was “a mistake from the ref” as the France international had a “clear two hands on (Romero’s) back”, the counter-argument is the centre-back should have been stronger and more dominant in that situation. For protesting the referee’s decision to award the goal, Romero was shown his first yellow card of the evening.
While that reaction may have been justified, his second booking was entirely inexcusable.
With seven minutes to go in added time and Tottenham firmly in the ascendancy after Richarlison pulled a goal back on 83 minutes, Romero was fouled from behind by Ibrahima Konate, giving Spurs a free kick in a promising position.
As a player who thrives in chaos — see his game-saving two goals away at Newcastle United earlier this month — he is precisely the player you would want in the opposition box, trying to get on the end of that set piece. Instead, he was handed his marching orders by Brooks in the immediate aftermath of Konate’s challenge after mindlessly kicking out at the Liverpool centre-back, which should have virtually killed any hope of a comeback, if not for Liverpool’s incompetence.
“I think any player needs to control their emotions and be cool-headed,” Frank said in his post-match press conference. “It’s not only because you’re a captain that you need to be exceptionally cool-headed. That’s also always good, of course. We’re talking about a very passionate player that’s been very good for this club and team for many years.”
Former Manchester United and England full-back Gary Neville, commentating on the match for Sky Sports, was less diplomatic, calling Romero’s reaction “absolute madness”. Later, former Tottenham midfielder and now Sky analyst Jamie Redknapp added, “What Romero did is what Romero does.”
Even for the most ardent Romero advocate, it is difficult to label his conduct in that moment as anything less than petulant and selfish.
Now Frank has to prepare for a crucial game away to Crystal Palace on Sunday with one fewer leader in a side already short on big characters.