Micky van de Ven’s clearance was iconic but his centre-back partner, Cristian Romero, won the player-of-the-match award. Romero has made a few high-profile errors this season, including losing Gabriel from a corner for the Brazilian’s goal in September’s defeat by Arsenal. Last month, he publicly flirted with a move to La Liga. None of that matters anymore.
With Son Heung-min on the bench, Romero captained Spurs in Bilbao and produced a peerless performance. Last week, Kevin Danso told a group of reporters, including The Athletic, that the Argentina international was “world class”.
“From the outside looking in, you’d think he’s very aggressive but he’s one of the calmest guys in the changing room,” Danso said. “Everybody at the club and anybody who watches football knows he’s a brilliant passer and a great defender. A defender needs that (aggressive) side to him to give the strikers a bit of fear, (thinking) ‘Oh, he could come in at any time’. He’s a great talent.
“He’s not the most vocal. That’s why I said he’s one of the calmest guys. There are different kinds of leadership and he leads by example by the way he plays.”
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