13 August 2023 , 17:30
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Ange Postecoglou insisted Tottenham were not prepared to “take any risks” with Cristian Romero after he was substituted at Brentford.
The Argentine was named in the ex-Celtic boss’ first competitive Spurs line-up and was immediately involved in the thick of the action, clashing heads Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo. After both received treatment, they returned to the pitch and Romero opened the scoring by heading home James Maddison's free kick.
The Spurs defender was made to wait to celebrate following a lengthy VAR check. And after it was announced the goal would stand, he was immedately substituted by Postecoglou and replaced by Davinson Sanchez - despite the World Cup winner not wanting to exit.
Speaking after the game, the Australian said: “Romero had a head knock and the medical team were watching him the whole time. Their information was that he wasn't that steady and with his head after scoring, I'm not taking any risks in that scenario in this day and age and what we know of head injuries.
"The last person you want to be directed by is the player himself. He has no idea. The disappointing thing is that apparently we filled out the wrong form for a concussion sub.
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“That is madness in this day and age. It is pretty clear why we took the guy off. It is black and white for us, we're not going to take any risks with our people when we know what the repercussions are. He seems fine but the player is not the one who knows these things.”
Brentford certainly took advantage of Romero’s absence as his opener was cancelled out from the penalty spot by Mbeumo. Yoane Wissa then put the Bees ahead.
The scoring was rounded off by Emerson Royal, who equalised with a fantastic effort from range. One man in particular shone for Postecoglou though - Yves Bissouma.
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The Spurs boss added: "Bissouma has been outstanding through pre-season and was superb today. We had a lot of the ball and it was important we kept things ticking over.
“Our progression of the ball was really good, we just lacked a cutting edge. It is the stage we are at. We are trying to change the way the team plays and they are taking on a lot of information.”
Postecoglou and Spurs will be aiming to chalk up their first wins of the campaign next time. The North London side welcome Manchester United to the Tottenham Hotspur next Saturday and will hope to have Romero to call upon dependent on whether he suffered from concussion.