Sports

Gary Neville makes Cristian Romero claim in Tottenham defeat to Liverpool

Published

2 hours ago

21 December 2025

Gary Neville makes Cristian Romero claim in Tottenham defeat to Liverpool

It was an evening to forget for Tottenham and Thomas Frank, who ended their defeat to Liverpool with nine men as Spurs continue their poor run of form.

The match remained goalless through a tense opening period before Xavi Simons first saw red after catching Virgil van Dijk on the back of the calf with a reckless challenge.

The Dutchman’s dismissal left Spurs to battle with 10 men for over an hour as Liverpool seized control of proceedings.

Alexander Isak broke the deadlock in the 56th minute after winning the ball inside the Spurs half and setting the move off, feeding off Cristian Romero‘s failed pass up field.

Hugo Ekitiké then picked out Florian Wirtz’s run, and the German midfielder’s pass was rolled perfectly into Isak’s path for the striker to slot past Guglielmo Vicario and put the Reds ahead.

Tottenham ready to make January target their highest-paid star to shatter wage structure

Spurs are pulling out all the stops.

Liverpool doubled their advantage in the 66th minute when Ekitike won a header inside the box and steered the ball into the back of the net, appearing to put the result beyond all doubt for Arne Slot’s side, who were enjoying complete dominance against the depleted hosts.

Romero pleaded for a foul against him, but Ekitike was simply more powerful and rose above the 27-year-old for Liverpool’s second of the game.

Spurs showed greater resilience than expected though and substitute Richarlison made an immediate impact in the 83rd minute.

The Brazilian jabbed home after Liverpool made a complete mess of clearing a corner to give the home crowd renewed hope late on.

The drama intensified in stoppage time when Romero won a free kick in a dangerous area after being fouled by Ibrahima Konate but then completely lost his composure.

Romero threw a fit after the decision and earned himself a second yellow card to leave Spurs down to nine men for the closing stages.

Liverpool held on despite the late pressure to claim all three points and make it back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since September.

Gary Neville slams Cristian Romero in Tottenham defeat to Liverpool

Speaking on commentary duty, pundit Gary Neville took aim at Romero for his role in the defeat.

Before his calamitious sending off, the Argentine’s botched clearance led to Isak’s opener for Liverpool after Spurs initially mopped up the danger, which set the wheels in motion for a damning defeat.

Watching the replay back on Sky Sports mid-match, Neville blasted the ‘really poor’ moment from Spurs’ captain, claiming that Romero ‘exposed the whole team’ with his careless attempt at a punt up field.

What turned out to be a close one in the end and an admirable attempt at a fightback was also another nightmare result for Frank, who faces mounting pressure as Tottenham’s terrible run continues.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank reacts

The Lilywhites have now won just twice in their last nine matches across all competitions, dropping to 13th in the table and seven points off a European place.

Romero and Simons are also now suspended, adding to insult to injury and further depleting Frank’s already stretched resources.

January cannot come soon enough for Spurs, with the club believed to be holding talks with Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo over a mid-season move to London.