Tottenham Hotspur saw their captain rise above the chaos at St James’ Park, and the underlying numbers paint a clear picture of just how decisive he was in securing a Premier League point.
Tottenham Hotspur did enough to stop their run of three defeats in all competitions with a 2-2 draw on Tuesday night at St James’ Park.
Thomas Frank’s side remains in the bottom half of the Premier League table despite earning a point, but the Tottenham boss will go away with some positives from his team’s performance as they showed fight against Eddie Howe’s side.
Cristian Romero was the star of the night, with the Argentine returning to the starting XI following his suspension after being banned for picking up five yellow cards in the first 12 gameweeks, and his return proved to be the difference for Tottenham.
The Tottenham captain grabbed two spectacular goals, first with a diving header and then a late overhead finish in the dying minutes to give his team a much-needed result.
Cristian Romero’s underlying stats stand out for Tottenham
It was a captain’s performance with Romero leading from the front, doing most of his damage in the opposition box, and he was our man of the match against the Magpies.
FotMob also recognised Romero’s top display, handing him a 9.1 player rating, the most of any player on the pitch.
The defender put in a complete performance, with the underlying numbers backing up his display, as he contributed defensively and offensively while showing leadership in all phases of the game.
He did not give Woltemade a sniff, and he continued to look to push his team up the pitch with a pass accuracy of 85%, while also creating one chance.
Aside from his two goals, Romero was also crucial at the back for Spurs, with the centre-back making one last-man tackle to prevent Newcastle from adding to their tally.
Cristian Romero match stats vs Newcastle
| Metric | Total |
|---|---|
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Goals | 2 |
| Accurate passes | 34/40 (85%) |
| Chances created | 1 |
| Defensive contributions | 12 |
| Shots on target | 2/2 (100%) |
| Touches | 63 |
| Touches in opposition box | 3 |
| Successful dribbles | 1/3 (33%) |
| Passes into final third | 5 |
| Tackles | 3 |
| Last man tackle | 1 |
| Blocks | 2 |
| Clearances | 5 |
| Headed clearances | 3 |
| Interceptions | 2 |
| Recoveries | 5 |
| Ground duels won | 5/11 (45%) |
| Aerial duels won | 1/3 (33%) |
Spurs still have issues despite Romero rescue
While Spurs earned a point thanks to Romero’s heroics, there is still loads of work that needs to be done by Thomas Frank and his team.
Tottenham still do not dominate games, nor do they play attacking football, and that was on show against Newcastle, as the Magpies controlled large periods and could easily have walked away with all three points.
Of course, Tottenham cannot rely on such clinical displays where their only shots on target are goals, as it is not sustainable.
If Frank does not find a way to get his side to create more clear-cut chances, then Tottenham will struggle to win more games.