Cristian Romero and Emerson Royal spat shows Tottenham players ‘care’, says Ange Postecoglou

The defenders broke into an argument in the middle of the pitch and came face-to-face

Tottenham Hotspur coach Ange Postecoglou brushed off a spat between defender Cristian Romero and Emerson Royal as proof his player “care” after his side’s Champions League hopes took a massive hit at Anfield.

Liverpool’s 4-2 victory means Spurs failed to take advantage of Aston Villa’s defeat at Brighton as Unai Emery’s side remained seven points ahead in the race for fourth.

It was a particularly miserable afternoon for Tottenham’s defenders, with Romero and Royal arguing before half-time and needing to be separated by goalkeeper Vicario after granting a series of opportunities for the home side. Royal was later substituted just before Postecoglou’s side launched a fightback from 4-0 down.

“I didn’t see it, but as I have said to others, they care,” said Postecoglou.

“They are not going to just be happy with the current situation. Because they care, they want to improve. There is nothing wrong with that as long as it stays constructive. They want to change the situation and not accept it.”

Despite the defeat, Postecoglou declared himself content that his side played in a manner more reminiscent of earlier in the season.

“Obviously it’s a hugely disappointing outcome for us, but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football,” said Postecoglou.

“Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren’t great either, we just didn’t try and play our football. I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be.

“I thought our football was good. Under pressure they are a really good pressing team and we played some good stuff to get through them and then we get to the front third and nothing would happen. It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again that’s something the guys have to work through. You have to find a way to overcome that because ultimately if you don’t put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you’ve worked your way up there, they’re going to get comfortable with their position.”

A triple substitution changed the momentum of the game, Richarlison scoring and creating a goal for his skipper, Son Heung-min.

“It sounds madness because we were 4-0 down, but we still made Liverpool work hard and we do that in all our games. The Arsenal game was similar,” said the Spurs coach.

“We always tend to finish strong, and I think the subs benefit from the hard work of the other guys. I thought Richy was really good with his presence and then the other guys coming on I thought added something for us. We got a couple of goals and could have had a couple more.”

On his penultimate Anfield appearance, Jurgen Klopp was relieved to see his side back on form after a miserable April when their treble bid evaporated.

“We were outstanding until we were not good and then we were alright again,” said Klopp.

“I really like the way the boys played, although conceding two – Ali (Allison) is really not happy about that. It was a really good football game, which everyone should expect from us, and we delivered.”

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