Cristian Romero a disgrace, 3/10 almost as bad – Tottenham player ratings vs Man United
Tottenham have Cristian Romero to blame for their defeat to Manchester United.
With Thomas Frank still at risk of the sack at Tottenham, it was crucial that Spurs, at the very least, avoided defeat against the Red Devils.
However, Romero’s sending off for his challenge on Casemiro made that a fantasy for Spurs, who fell to a 2-0 defeat away to Man United.
Bryan Mbuemo opened the scoring for the hosts just nine minutes after Spurs were reduced to ten men, with Bruno Fernandes making sure of all three points in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Joao Palhinha looked lost vs Man United
In all honesty, Joao Palhinha offered absolutely nothing for Tottenham at Old Trafford, even more so after Romero was dismissed.
The Portuguese international offered no defensive security at all, having won just 38 per cent of his defensive duels, while also offering nothing in possession.
He completed 81 per cent of his attempted passes, but only one of them was into the final third, and his only attempted long ball failed to reach its target.
Palhinha will be a crucial player in specific fixtures, but he was borderline useless against Manchester United.
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Cristian Romero needs to be binned at Tottenham
Cristian Romero is an immensely talented footballer, and without him, Spurs would be in a much worse position than they are.
But his sheer stupidity has cost his side on several occasions, and that was again the case against Manchester United, showcasing why his exit should be a genuine consideration in the summer.
Not only did he win just 33 per cent of his ground duels against Man United, but Romero also lunged into an awful challenge on Casemiro, and was rightly sent off, with that being his 10th card of the season, and second red of the campaign.
Not only did it leave Spurs a man short and fighting an uphill battle at Old Trafford, but it will also impact their ability to get results in any of their next four encounters.
And with Frank’s future on the line, that could prove to be remarkably costly.
Tottenham player ratings
Guglielmo Vicario – 7
Archie Gray – 6
Joao Palhinha – 3 (for Bissouma 80′)
Cristian Romero – 0
Micky van de Ven – 5
Destiny Udogie – 7 (for Souza 55′)
Pape Sarr – 6
Conor Gallagher – 6 (for Tel 80′)
Wilson Odobert – 5 (for Dragusin 32′)
Xavi Simons – 6
Dominic Solanke – 5 (for Kolo Muani 80′)
Subs
Radu Dragusin – 5 (for Odobert 32′)
Souza – 6 (for Udogie 55′)
Yves Bissouma – N/A (for Palhinha 80′)
Randal Kolo Muani – N/A (for Solanke 80′)
Mathys Tel – N/A (for Gallagher 80′)