Thomas Frank has unsurprisingly singled out Cristian Romero for praise after the centre-back scored his first-ever brace for Tottenham Hotspur against Newcastle United.
While Spurs were on the back foot for large parts of the game at St James’ Park, they certainly had spells where they dominated the ball and showed the threat they can pose.
After going 1-0 down to a Bruno Guimaraes strike in the 71st minute, Tottenham hit back immediately with an equaliser, with Romero producing a bullet header into the far corner from a Mohammed Kudus cross.
It looked like Spurs were undone by a bit of extreme misfortune when Antony Gordon converted from the spot on 86 minutes after a controversial penalty was given against the Lilywhites.
However, instead of feeling sorry for themselves, Tottenham rallied and hit back once again, with Romero’s overhead kick finding its way into the back of the net past several bodies in a crowded box in stoppage time.
Thomas Frank says Cristian Romero deserved his Tottenham brace
Frank suggested that Romero deserved those goals due to the calmness and resoluteness he showed in defence and on the ball.
The Tottenham boss opined that the Argentine’s first goal was even better than his second, suggesting that a lot of strikers would be proud of that header.
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When asked about Romero’s brace, Frank joked (via Football.London): “The perfect bicycle kick, hit the shin, aiming for the bottom corner. I think let’s start praising Cuti, I think he deserved that for all of the top performance, defending, on the ball, coolness, calmness, duels.
“And then getting up there and scoring two goals. I think the bicycle kick will most likely get a little bit more praise, but I think the header is more exceptional. The way he does that is better than many strikers.
“That said, I think I really liked the character, the mentality in the team, what they showed after three tough games, I think it’s been. To go here, the fourth game in 10 days, the third away game, a very difficult place, going down two times, being behind two times, and coming back, it shows everything about the willingness and the mentality in the team.”
Frank says mentality is more important than tactics
The Tottenham boss has come under plenty of criticism for his negative tactics over recent weeks.
However, the 52-year-old admitted that while he and his staff can do all the tactical preparations they want, ultimately, it is up to the players to stand up in key moments as Romero did.
When asked if Romero’s leadership was key at a tumultuous time for the club, the Dane responded: “Yeah, of course. I think we can set everything nice tactically up and good principles and all that, and try to do it, and that’s the foundation, and hopefully we can make a great team. But you know, sometimes it’s decisive actions from key players, and Cuti definitely did that today.”