View: 90% Cristian Romero continues to impress after masterclass in Tottenham win v Sheffield United
Tottenham continued their very impressive start to the new Premier League season with a fourth-successive victory, this time against Sheffield United.
The North London club defeated the South Yorkshire side 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday (16 September).
Attacking stars Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski were the heroes of the afternoon with their late theatrics. But one player who also deserves plenty of recognition for his display is defender Cristian Romero.
The centre-back has impressed under Ange Postecoglou this season, helping his club keep back-to-back clean sheets against Manchester United and Bournemouth last month.
There was no clean sheet against the Blades, but it was still a superb performance from the Argentine, who often had to work twice as hard due to the struggles of his central defensive partner Micky van de Ven.
As per SofaScore, the summer signing won just eight of his 21 duels. In contrast, Romero won five of his nine, but more importantly made three tackles and two clearances.
On the ball meanwhile, he completed 90% of his passes, one of which was key, with four of his six long balls completed.
Postecoglou has enjoyed a stunning start to life at Tottenham following his summer switch from Celtic, and Romero has been a key figure in the manager’s successful beginnings.
From his five matches so far, the centre-back boasts an average of 5.8 balls recovered per game, 2.2 tackles per game and 3.2 clearances per game. He also boasts an impressive average of 86% of ground duels won for the season (SofaScore).
The player’s aggression and tenacity has often got the better of him at times throughout his Tottenham career, but Romero looks to be a different animal under his new manager. The Argentine has even helped his club at the other end of the pitch with two goals so far this season.
Very tough tests do, however, await Romero and his teammates, with a derby at fierce rivals Arsenal up next, followed by a tricky home meeting with high-flying Liverpool.
Both the Gunners and the Reds do, however, have European commitments to worry about, which should result in Romero being fitter than some of his attacking foes in those matches.
In other Tottenham news, one player has sent Postecoglou a message following his stunning 100% cameo against Sheffield United.