Daniel Sturridge respects the effort ‘mad man’ Spurs star showed against Newcastle
Daniel Sturridge says Cristian Romero pressed the Newcastle players ‘like a madman’ in the lead-up to the Magpies’ opener.
Tottenham’s defending comes under question again
A lot of pundits have questioned Spurs’ defending for Harvey Barnes’ opener, with the winger finding himself unmarked in the box to turn home a cross past Guglielmo Vicario with a neat first-time finish.
Roy Keane has accused the Tottenham defenders of switching off in the lead-up to the goal (Sky Sports 01/09/24) while Shay Given pointed the finger squarely at Romero, questioning why the defender vacated his spot and decided to put pressure on the ball (BBC Match of the Day 2).
Sturridge, however, said that Romero’s intention to be aggressive and win the ball was the right approach and he credited Tino Livramento for managing to play it forward and Barnes for his lovely finish.
Cristian Romero labelled a ‘mad man’
The former Liverpool man told Sky Sports’ half-time coverage (01/09/24 from 14:15) about Romero: “He’s pressing like a mad man, which I actually respect to be fair because the intention is good, trying to put pressure on the ball, he expects Livramento to play it back, [but] he’s got the ability to be able to manipulate it.
“And from there as it develops, you see Harvey Barnes in the centre of the pitch, almost playing like a number 10, fantastic cross into the box and the finish man – got to give him respect for that fantastic finish first time.”
Tottenham did not cover themselves in glory defensively for Newcastle’s second goal either as one through ball from defence was all that was needed to catch out the Lilywhites, with Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy beating the offside trap too easily.
Spurs Web Opinion
Romero is a world-class defender, but he is prone to lapses in concentration.
Had Eric Dier or Davinson Sanchez done what the Argentine did for the first goal, they would have been destroyed by Spurs fans.
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