Sports
What Romero Did Which Sparked Full-Time Bust-up
Cristian Romero’s auxiliary shift as Tottenham Hotspur‘s centre-forward is exactly what the doctor ordered for Thomas Frank and company as he scored two goals late on in his side’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle United at St James’ Park, thus securing a share of the spoils for the travelling north Londoners. And the defender couldn’t help but upset the apple cart with his celebration.
Eddie Howe’s men – who took the lead through substitute Bruno Guimaraes‘ well-taken effort in the 71st minute – were largely on top of their opposition, but Romero levelled proceedings just seven minutes after with a lovely, glanced header. Anthony Gordon then regained his side’s advantage from the penalty spot with four minutes of regulation time left.
With mere minutes left on the clock and any chance of earning a point slipping away from the visitors, it was Romero who stepped up again. Mathys Tel’s delivery was punched up in the air by Aaron Ramsdale and, without letting it bounce, the World Cup winner met it with a spectacular bicycle kick. The away contingent erupted into raptures; Romero wheeled off in celebration.
Romero Sparks Wild Scene With Post-Goal Celebration in Final Moments
While the Spurs supporters were jumping up and down high up in the nosebleeds, Romero was joined by a sea of yellow shirts in front of the downbeat Newcastle supporters, who had just watched three points being swept from underneath them. That was because of an audaciously acrobatic effort from Romero, a man who has no right to pull off such a feat.
Romero, who was signed from Serie A outfit Atalanta in the summer of 2022, has never been afraid to stir the pot – and he seemingly rubbed fellow South American Guimaraes up the wrong way with his post-goal celebration, which sparked wild scenes at the full-time whistle. Why was that the case?
Well, the 47-cap Argentina international – who is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League right now – produced a strikingly similar celebration to that of Guimaraes. He walked behind the goal, surrounded by his teammates, and placed his hands over his ears before pointing to ‘Romero’, which is emblazoned on the back of his shirt.
Frustrated at letting their lead slip on two occasions, Newcastle – spearheaded by Guimaraes himself and Joelinton – attempted to engage with Romero once referee Thomas Bramall called time on the dramatic 2-2 draw in the northeast. Briefly, it threatened to spill over into chaos as plenty of pushing and shoving ensued. Cool heads prevailed.
Newcastle’s Dan Burn attempted to add more fuel to the fire by coming over all guns blazing, but the less-aggravated members of either side poured cold water on it.
Waxing lyrical about Romero, though, was Thomas Frank’s primary post-match focus. Speaking to football.london, he said: “The perfect bicycle kick, hit the shin, aiming for the bottom corner,” he said when describing his skipper’s outrageous finish. “I think let’s start praising Cuti, I think he deserved that for all of the top performance, defending, on the ball, coolness, calmness, duels.
“And then getting up there and scoring two goals. I think the bicycle kick will most likely get a little bit more praise, but I think the header is more exceptional, the way he does that is better than many strikers.”
Could This Match Be Thomas Frank’s Momentum Shifter?
It would be remiss to ignore the heaps of pressure on Frank’s shoulders. The Danish boss – lured away from Brentford, who constantly punched above their weight under his stewardship – hasn’t lost the faith of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful, but he is certainly flirting with the idea as Spurs have dropped from third to 14th in a matter of five weeks.
The level of needle shown on Tuesday night, largely by skipper Romero, is exactly what Frank and his entourage will require in the coming weeks if they are to avoid being sacked.
Could earning a point late on against Newcastle be a turning point for Frank? Their last win came on November 4 against Copenhagen in the Champions League, with that being followed by two draws and three losses – and picking up more victories, either home or away, will be pivotal.
Dressing Room Lost: Tottenham Stars Unhappy After Thomas Frank U-Turn
Pressure is building on Thomas Frank with Spurs winning just one of their past seven matches.
Up next? Frank’s old club Brentford, a side he took charge of on 317 occasions between October 2018 and the summer just gone. Keith Andrews’ side are spearheaded by an in-form Igor Thiago, and he’ll certainly cause a handful of problems for Spurs’ porous back line. Slavia Prague, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool follow after their home match against the Bees.
