01 May 2023 , 09:50
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Gary Neville has agreed with Sky Sport colleague and former Tottenham captain Jamie Redknapp by slamming defender Crisitan Romero for his poor recent performances.
Spurs were 3-0 down by half-time against Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday before a second-half rally looked to have secured a creditable 3-3 draw. However, their impressive fightback was for nothing as a late error from Lucas allowed Diogo Jota to score a winner in front of the Kop and leave Spurs four matches without a win.
Romero won the World Cup with Argentina in December, but has returned to a Spurs side who are in freefall at present, losing 6-1 to Newcastle last week before losing 4-3 to Liverpool. They have now lost three of their last four matches, with Champions League qualification appearing a distant memory for the side who are being managed by interim boss Ryan Mason.
Mason returned to a back three for the clash against Liverpool, with Romero alongside Eric Dier and Ben Davies. The combination was expertly picked apart by the Reds in the first-half before a more assured second-half from Mason's side, who showed fight to restore parity.
However, the second goal in the match came after a careless challenge inside the penalty area from Romero, with the Argentine fouling Cody Gakpo, allowing Mohamed Salah to score the resulting spot-kick. This was a mistake panned on Sky Sports by Redknapp - describing it as "diabolical" - with Neville adding his own post-match reaction to the pair's performance and the general attitude of Romero.
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The former Manchester United defender told the Gary Neville Podcast: "You'd have to go a long way to see two defenders have as bad a week as Eric Dier and Romero - they are all over the place. Absolute shambles they are at the back.
"The lack of composure from Romero is staggering, and the choice of charging out by Dier, with his experience, he's done it two or three times in this game already, and he shakes his head.
Eric Dier and Cristian Romero have been criticised for their recent performances (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)Where will Tottenham finish this season? Have your say in the comments
"When he first got in the team, Romero, I thought he looked calm and composed, but there's something just triggered in his mind - he's trying to win every ball, he goes running into areas.
"What you have to remember when you're going to be like that - when you're going be that rash - you're making it incredibly difficult for the players alongside you because then they'll have no idea what you're going to do as a defender.
"That's how you look at good defenders or good defensive partnerships - they understand each other. He's not thinking about his teammates right now. He's just trying to look good.
"Sometimes fans see that and go, 'Oh look at him, he's showing aggression, he's trying to win the ball.'" He added. "No, you need to think, 'You're not thinking about your team. You're letting your teammates down with performances like that.'"