Tottenham were beaten 2-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Thomas Frank’s woes at the helm at Hotspur Way continued as Tottenham Hotspur were defeated by Manchester United at Old Trafford (FT 2-0) yesterday.
Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes found the back of the net as 10-man Tottenham suffered yet another loss, which leaves the Lilywhites languishing in 14th place with only 29 points on the board.
The game was pretty balanced till about the half-hour mark when Tottenham skipper Cristian Romero brought his off-the-field Instagram caption frustrations on the field to take a reckless red card for his challenge on Casemiro. And that left Tottenham on the back foot.
Carrick’s side wasted no time to capitalise on their numerical advantage as Mbeumo netted their first before Bruno wrapped up the points late on in the game.
Yesterday’s red card was Romero’s second of the season, which means that the Argentine will now serve a four-match suspension. This ends up ruling him out of a few key games, including the North London derby later this month.
Alan Shearer speaks on Romero red carpet exit vs United
Reflecting after the game on Match of the Day, Newcastle United icon Alan Shearer spoke of the incident after he looked at the red card from the refcam footage.
“Absolutely, Michael Oliver gets it absolutely right. You can’t tackle like that in today’s game,” Shearer said (via. BBC).
Shearer went on to highlight the sense of responsibility that Romero should have as a captain. And he is right in a sense; Romero has to set a better example for others as Tottenham continue to endure a difficult time on the pitch.
He added: “He has to show better leadership. Leaders are the ones who perform for the team and make others around them better. Now, he’s going to be missing for four games and Tottenham just do not need that. But absolutely, it is a red card.”
Author Opinion
Romero was given that captain’s armband over the summer after Son Heung-Min took the MLS challenge. And the Argentine (at least on paper) is one of the most important players in that roster.
There is no doubt about his quality (he would walk into most of the sides in Europe), but he has this tendency to go into rash sequences which had left the North Londoners on the back foot in crucial moments. His red carpet dismissal against United was his third suspension of the ongoing season.
Tottenham needs a stable leader, someone who has that mettle. And this squad has no one of that sort right now. Maybe the club will have to dip into the market to bring more leaders into the squad, ones who are capable of grabbing hold of these kinds of situations and pushing the squad instead of opting to go recklessly into a challenge and earning themselves a four-matchday paid holiday.
What do you make of Romero’s latest red card? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.