Cristian Romero’s bad week got worse after he was sent off as Spurs lost 2-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford, but there’s only one person to blame for his moment of madness
Romero must take some of the blame for Spurs’ loss to Man United (Image: Getty Images)
“We only had 11 players available. Unbelievable but true and shameful,” said Cristian Romero after Spurs’ impressive comeback against Manchester City last Sunday.
And less than 30 minutes into the next game, Tottenham Hotspur had only 10 players available on the pitch – unbelievable but true and shameful.
It was their renewed vigor, a bit of clever finishing and a sharper, more direct attacking style that allowed Manchester United to continue their resurgence under manager Michael Carrick with a fourth win on the spin.
But it was also due to Romero’s stupidity, a completely predictable loss of control. After the Argentine defender’s social media posts found their way into the Spurs organization this week, manager Thomas Frank said the matter would be dealt with internally but Romero would remain captain.
And he did. The captain’s responsibility remains, that is. From the moment the 50/50 situation with Casemiro began, there was only one outcome.
read more: Roy Keane was introduced to manager Michael Carrick as a key player for Man United, who attracted attention with Tottenham’s victory.read more: Bruno Fernandes reveals Michael Carrick’s bold predictions as Manchester United’s turnaround continues
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Michael Oliver almost got a red card before Romero’s right boot crashed into Casemiro’s ankle. Perhaps a minority might argue that was a bit harsh, but the momentum left Oliver with little choice but to hand Romero his fourth red card in the Premier League.
These cards will feature matches against United, City, Chelsea and Liverpool. He loves being sent off in important games, Christian. This season, there will be 2 red and 9 yellow. Some people go.
And while it has to be said that this particular offense wasn’t much worse than Diogo Dalot’s yellow card offense against Jeremy Doku here, it definitely gave United a helping hand they probably didn’t need.
Utilizing their man-advantage, Brian Mbeumo put them ahead with a clever corner kick routine and they had no problems from there on.
Romero was sent off for a harsh challenge on Casemiro (Image: Getty Images)
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It wasn’t exactly a stellar performance, but there was a positive atmosphere at Old Trafford and Carrick’s long-term appointment is looking increasingly like the obvious decision.
The resurgence under him is not surprising. This is a good United team, assembled at great expense and in terrible health. The workload is very manageable and the overall standard of the Premier League this season is questionable.
This is United’s 27th game of the season, 10 fewer than Spurs have had to play. The decisiveness of that factor cannot be underestimated. More games means not only more fatigue, but more injuries.
United have just 13 games left in the season with 15 weeks remaining. With the resources at his disposal, Carrick can rotate his selections if he wishes, but he doesn’t have to. If this eleven can stay healthy, they should be able to play for the rest of the season.
He may make some changes ahead of Tuesday’s game against West Ham, but this set-up has a winning formula and Tottenham’s scoreline against 10 opponents should have been more convincing.
Bruno Fernandes is in great form at Manchester United (Image: Getty Images)
Unlike during the recent away trip to Burnley, the traveling Spurs support did not do Frank any favors, perhaps because Spurs were playing well before Romero was handed a four-match ban.
No matter how reckless, the centre-half will still be sidelined and personnel issues continue to weaken Frank. Carrick has no such problems. He has not only found a system that suits the players, but also brings out the best in each individual.
The agreement between Casemiro and the club to part ways at the end of the season appears to have grown more hasty each time the Brazilian played under Carrick.
The midfield duo of Casemiro, Koby Mainu and Bruno Fernandes are purring. There are still rumors that Fernandes could also leave this summer, but from United’s perspective it would be madness to let him leave.
Given another outstanding contribution, he deserved a goal late in the game. If Romero was still watching, this is what the captain’s performance would have looked like.
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