‘Really interesting’… What Cristian Romero was doing when Crystal Palace tried to wind him up on Saturday

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Journalist Alasdair Gold has shared how he spotted one Crystal Palace player trying to wind Cristian Romero up on Saturday as he lauded the Tottenham Hotspur defender’s improved discipline this season.

Cristian Romero was one of the players who helped Spurs come from a goal down to claim the three points against the Eagles at the weekend. The Argentinian scored Tottenham’s second goal of the afternoon; oddly appearing in the six-yard box to convert James Maddison’s cross.

But that will not be the only thing Romero did which will please Ange Postecoglou. Of course, for much of his time in North London, the centre-back has been known for his fiery temperament.

Cristian Romero keeps his cool in Tottenham win

At times, Romero has been a liability. And Tottenham fans would have been forgiven for writing off the World Cup winner in the past, perhaps most recently when he was sent off for a wild challenge in the loss to Chelsea in November.

But speaking on his YouTube channel, Alasdair Gold suggested that there are plenty of signs that the defender has turned a corner, with some of the Crystal Palace players attempting to get under his skin on Saturday.

“What I think is really interesting is a sign of Romero growing and learning is, this season, you’d think, ‘Oh crazy Romero, got that red card against Chelsea’, but I think again, if we take a step back and look at it from the big picture, Romero had that. Other than that, he’s had four yellow cards this season. He hasn’t received a single yellow card in 2024 yet and we’re into March,” he said.

“The way he plays and the way we assume that he’s going to pick up bookings and things like that, he doesn’t. And there were a few moments yesterday when I saw – I can’t remember, it might’ve been Mateta – someone was trying to wind him up and jostling with him, giving him little elbows. And he just went to get the ball and play it quickly. Especially second-half, it was almost like someone had told him, every time you get the ball, get it quickly, take a quick kick, get the ball moving before they set their position.”

Defender has matured this season

Four Tottenham players have collected more yellow cards than Romero in the Premier League this season. Meanwhile, he is on course to fall well short of his previous tallies. He went into this campaign having collected 19 yellow cards for Spurs across his previous two top-flight seasons.

It is a remarkable turnaround in many ways. The decision to make him co-vice-captain alongside James Maddison is proving to be a masterstroke.

And the quality of Micky Van de Ven allows Romero to do less last-ditch defending.

Ultimately, Tottenham are probably going to have future reminders of the negative side of Romero’s game. He plays in a position on the pitch where risks have to be taken.

But there is no question that he has really improved that side of his game, as Gold notes.