Postecoglou gets it wrong as Cristian Romero starts in Tottenham v AZ Alkmaar
Ange Postecoglou could regret starting Cristian Romero for Tottenham against AZ Alkmaar.
Spurs go into the clash against the Dutch outfit on Thursday (13 March) needing to overturn a 1-0 aggregate scoreline.
If the Lilywhites want to earn a spot in the quarter final of the Europea League, they must win by a two goal margin or win a penalty shootout.
This won’t be easy for the North Londoners who struggled to break through the AZ defence in the first leg where a Lucas Bergvall own goal proved to be the difference.
With that being said, starting Romero could ultimately prove to be the wrong decision, especially after his performance last time out.
Romero starts for Tottenham v AZ Alkmaar
After a difficult afternoon in the draw against Bournemouth, it comes as little surprise that Ange Postecoglou would opt to make four changes.
Spurs revealed via X (13 March) that Heung-Min Son, Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison and Micky van de Ven had all come into the line up for the Europa League clash.
The latter alteration is due to Kevin Danso picking up an injury which is a blow given his Argentine defensive partner struggled more than him against the Cherries.
Romero was generally poor against Andoni Iraola’s side, represented by his 33 per cent duel success rate which is typically so much better [FotMob].
The 26-year-old also failed to win a single tackle while completing just two defensive actions and losing three duels on the day.
This wasn’t necessarily made up for by his ability on the ball as the former Juventus man completed just 43 per cent of long balls and made just seven into the final third.
Postecoglou makes brave call on Romero
It is fair to say that the Bournemouth draw wasn’t the World Cup winner’s best day at the office.
As he returns from injury, he is bound to struggle to come up to speed instantly, especially after being absent since early December.
| Stat | Cristian Romero v Bournemouth |
| Accurate long balls (%) | 33 |
| Tackles won | 0 |
| Ground duels won | 1 |
| Defensive actions | 2 |
With that being said, it does feel like a risk to introduce him straight into the side for arguably Spurs’ biggest game of the season after such a difficult day in N17 last time out.
Postecoglou will be hoping that the influence of van de Ven can have a positive impact next to him, otherwise Archie Gray will be waiting in the wings.