Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte will likely be chomping at the bit to back in the dugout amid his recent layoff, with the serial-winning Italian having watched from afar as his side wilted on the road for the second game running in all competitions.
After suffering a shock FA Cup exit at the hands of Championship side Sheffield United in midweek, the Lilywhites – under the stewardship of Cristian Stellini – again came undone away against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon, with Adama Traore’s late strike sealing the win for the battling hosts at Molineux.
Having clinched two successive Premier League wins against both West Ham United and Chelsea heading into today’s encounter, the north Londoners were dealt a dose of reality after suffering a further setback in their top-four bid, with only Newcastle United’s earlier loss to Manchester City likely to have softened the blow.
Amid a frustrating day for the visitors, one standout figure was arguably that of January arrival, Pedro Porro, with the dynamic wing-back having come close to breaking the deadlock with a stunning free-kick on the stroke of half-time.
The 23-year-old had seemingly deserved to get on the scoresheet having been a real threat down the right flank, with the relentless Spaniard having laid on two key passes in his 81-minute outing, as well as enjoying a solid 81% pass accuracy rate.
The on-loan asset was not alone in having impressed in the Midlands, however, with influential defender Cristian Romero having also been something of a shining light on the day.
How did Romero play against Wolves?
The World Cup-winning Argentine – who has previously been lauded as “street-wise” by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher – went into the match off the back of his rock-solid display against the Blues last week, having been “utterly impeccable” in that 2-0 triumph in the words of The Athletic’s Tim Spiers.
The 24-year-old was able to follow up that dominant performance with another dogged display this time around, despite ending up on the losing side, with the aggressive centre-back having won five duels in total, as well as making three clearances.
That destructive quality – which saw the centre-back commit two fouls – was also mirrored by Romero’s brilliance in possession as he achieved a standout 93% pass accuracy rate from his 80 touches, losing possession on just seven occasions.
As the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick noted, the former Atalanta man had initially been in ‘total control’ for the first hour or so prior to Wolves’ late onslaught, with the 6 foot 1 ace undoubtedly not to blame for the home side being able to eventually make the breakthrough in the closing stages.
As 90min’s Sean Walsh also noted, the at-times erratic brute was ‘Tottenham’s most alert defender and easily their most reliable distributor from the back’, having seemingly done all he could to try and keep Stellini’s men in the game.
With the battle for Champions League qualification likely to hot up in the coming weeks and months, there are few players better suited to such a fight than that of Romero.