Harsh words were spread about Tottenham on Wednesday night. Peter Crouch asked what the point of qualifying for the Champions League was if they were going to limp out as they did to AC Milan.
It was brutal from the former Spurs striker but it was a fair concern with Antonio Conte’s side throwing out yet another dismal and underwhelming display.
The Lilywhites were sat there with a fantastic chance of reaching the quarter-finals against a side sat fifth in the Italian top-flight with the draw having certainly been kind to those in north London.
Yet, they spurned another glorious opportunity of going deep into a competition, just days after being shambolically knocked out by Sheffield United in the FA Cup.
Plenty was to blame for the abject showing last night, none more so than the manager who failed to galvanise and inspire Spurs. The stadium felt lifeless, with that a damning assessment considering the shiny new ground they play their football in.
Yet there was another huge factor behind the defeat; a red card for Cristian Romero.
What is Cristian Romero’s disciplinary record at Spurs?
The Argentine defender takes both a modern and old-school approach to the game of football.
He is more than comfortable with the ball at his feet but the centre-back is also dominant in physical duels, completely bullying opponents.
However, in the words of BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand, he has the tendency to get too “emotional”, a trait that was on display against Milan on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-1 ace lunged in on Rafael Leao to receive a yellow card and then committed an unforgivable sin by performing a similar challenge on Theo Hernandez.
The French full-back attempted to break clear down the left but was ruthlessly wiped out by the World Cup winner who was subsequently given his march orders. As Chris Sutton put it on BBC Radio 5 Live, it was just “so reckless.”
That sending-off happened to be the third he’s received since joining Spurs and the sixth in his career to date. Considering he is still only 24, he simply has to learn sooner rather than later to keep his discipline. Indeed, at the moment, “it is a massive flaw to his game” – in the words of Jermaine Jenas.
Romero is truly frustrating. On his day he is a colossal defender and indeed one of Tottenham’s most important players. Yet, he is also incredibly unreliable at the same time and cannot be trusted to keep his head.
This element of his game echoes that of Granit Xhaka.
The Swiss, who plays for Spurs’ fierce rivals, Arsenal, has taken plenty of flack throughout the years for his ill-discipline, notably being criticised for an “absolutely ridiculous” red card in a crucial Carabao Cup tie with Liverpool.
Arsenal’s divisive midfielder has fought back to emerge as one of the club’s success stories this year but was a walking suspension during his early days in England.
At the age of 30, he has received a whopping 14 red cards throughout his club career with five of those coming at the Gunners.
Romero is now worryingly just two away from equalling that tally but as Xhaka has done so expertly, he must find a way to mature and iron out his reckless nature.
If the former Arsenal captain can manage to tame the beast inside of him telling him to lunge in, anyone can.
