Pundit Garth Crooks was left amazed by Tottenham defender Cristian Romero after a defensive block on Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock in the first half.
Writing in his weekly Team of the Week column on BBC Sport, the former Spurs man was full of praise for the Argentine international after the centre-back brilliantly denied the former Arsenal star from opening the scoring for Newcastle 22-minutes in.
Willock danced his way through the Tottenham defence before winding up a shot inside the penalty area, only for Romero to dive in at the last second to deny the England youth international the chance for the Toon to go ahead.
Whilst Fabian Schar did put Newcastle 1-0 up in the opening half, Eddie Howe’s side saw their lead collapse dramatically as Tottenham ran out 5-1 winners in what could be a pivotal win for Antonio Conte’s side. And for Crooks, Romero’s block was game-changing.
The BBC pundit wrote: “The block on Joe Willock’s strike on goal was nothing short of brilliant. The Newcastle player looked certain to score. Romero has caught my eye before while playing for Spurs and he’s starting to look like a real player in the Premier League.
Crooks added on Romero’s block on Willock: “The longer the game went on against Newcastle the better Romero got. Composed under pressure and very comfortable on the ball when he’s not.”
Incredible Romero moment vs. Newcastle saved Tottenham three points
Football is an unpredictable game where a single moment can alter a match or even an entire season, and for Tottenham, Romero’s block on Willock early in the first half could have done just that against Newcastle.
Had the Toon gone ahead earlier in the half, Tottenham could have once again collapsed against the odds and lost out on the chance to claim three huge points in what is slowly evolving into a two-horse race for fourth spot.
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