Ian Wright and Fara Williams blown away by Cristian Romero for Tottenham in Manchester United draw
Tottenham were unable to make their dominance count at Old Trafford as Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United held them to a 2-2 draw on Sunday 14 January.
Ange Postecoglou’s side twice fell behind against the Red Devils but were able to salvage a point with goals from Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur on either side of half time, however, had they taken their chances they could have claimed all three points.
While Bentancur’s excellent midfield display stole a lot of the plaudits, both Fara Williams and Ian Wright were quick to praise Cristian Romero for his work in the build-up to Spurs’ second goal, in particular, his pass into the feet of Oliver Skip.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2 (14 January, 16:30) Williams said: “With Spurs having their two starting centre-halves in, the pass here from Romero, reverse pass, splits six players. Manchester United have six players out of the game.”
Wright was quick to agree, saying simply: “Great pass.”
The 25-year-old was a surprise return for Tottenham on Sunday, but he performed as though he had never been away, especially with the ball at his feet.
Romero completed 97 per cent of his 89 attempted passes in the match, failing on only three occasions to find a teammate in white. Four of those efforts were into the final third as he managed to drive Spurs up the field from the base of midfield [Fotmob].
This ability on the ball is what sets Romero out from other defenders not only in Postecoglou’s side but from centre-backs in the Premier League. Only nine per cent of his positional peers in England’s top flight attempt, or complete more passes than the 25-year-old per game [Fbref].
Often, these higher stats are a result of defenders repeatedly passing the ball backwards and sideways, but in Romero’s case, he excels when passing over an extended range, having a higher long pass completion rate than 78 per cent of centre-backs.
When the Argentinian is in the team, Tottenham tend to move the ball through the thirds at a quicker rate. On average, he completes 6.36 progressive passes per 90 minutes of action, a figure which places him in the 94th percentile of Premier League centre-halves.
The Argentine international even showed his technical side on the ball, as he completed 100 per cent of his attempted dribbles and was only denied a fourth goal of the Premier League season by the woodwork.
While he is picked for his work in the final third, his aerial ability in front of goal is a huge bonus for Spurs as Romero produces more xG per match than 90 per cent of centre-halves and has scored more goals this season than 97 per cent of his positional peers.
Out of possession, the Spurs skipper was similarly destructive winning 83 per cent of his ground duels and two aerial battles in the clash as he had to contend with the physical presence of Rasmus Hojlund in the United frontline.
Tottenham may not have claimed all three points at Old Trafford, but they looked a much better side with Romero back in the starting XI.
Postecoglou has to keep the defender fit for the remainder of the season and manage his minutes well, otherwise his absence will seriously dent Spurs’ top-four hopes.
In other Tottenham news, Alan Hutton has shared his verdict on links between Pedro Porro and Manchester City