Ange Postecoglou has played down the significance of Cristian Romero’s bust-up with Emerson Royal in Tottenham’s 4-2 defeat to Liverpool, claiming the incident ‘just shows they care’.
Spurs’ woeful run of results continued as they suffered a fourth successive loss in the Premier League in a thriller on Merseyside, with Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott all scoring in Jurgen Klopp’s penultimate game in charge at Anfield.
The visitors threatened to mount a second-half comeback as Richarlison and Son Heung-min both found the net in the space of five minutes, but the Reds preserved their advantage to move to within four points of Manchester City.
The result means Tottenham now trail fourth-placed Aston Villa by seven points in the table and Postecoglou cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as Champions League football moved further from their clutches.
‘I thought, for the most part, we were a lot better than we have been in the last couple of games away from home,’ the Spurs head coach told beIN SPORTS shortly after the final whistle.
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‘I just think, especially in the first half, we got into the front third areas and we just weren’t anywhere near as dangerous as we could have been which would have put some pressure on them.
‘The flip side of that is that every time Liverpool got into the box they looked really dangerous with the quality of players that they have.
‘We obviously conceded a couple of times but I thought our football in general was decent and our general play was good.
‘But then they’ve scored a couple of good goals in the second half and we had a mountain to climb.’
Postecoglou added: ‘We didn’t give in.
‘We scored a couple of goals, had a couple more chances and I think, for us, at least that’s something to hold onto.’
As both sets of players headed for the tunnel at the halfway stage, Tottenham defenders Romero and Emerson almost came to blows as tensions threatened to boil over with Liverpool two goals in front.
Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario made sure to get between the pair before the altercation could escalate and Postecoglou appeared unbothered by the incident.
Quizzed on Romero and Emerson’s clash, he responded: ‘Look, the lads care. They’re frustrated, they’re not happy with the current situation and they want to address it.
‘It just shows they care so I don’t need to address that.’
Reflecting on the incident in a later interview with Sky Sports, Postecoglou added: ‘They care, mate. They care.
‘I’d hate to think that they were skipping into the tunnel holding hands.
‘They care and when they care that’s a good thing.’
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The north London giants will be under intense pressure to return to winning ways at home to Premier League strugglers Burnley in a week’s time and Postecoglou is optimistic his players can turn their fortunes around.
Asked what will need to change before Spurs’ clash with Burnley, Postecoglou replied: ‘It’s nothing drastic.
‘We’ve just got to get better at who we are and get a better version of ourselves. That’s what we’ll keep working on.
‘Today was a little bit more like ourselves, unlike our last two away appearances, so from that perspective that gives me something to keep pushing the guys with.’
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