Tottenham Hotspur’s charge towards Champions League football continued with a victory on Saturday, as they beat Crystal Palace 3-1.

It was a vital win for Ange Postecoglou’s side, especially after losing 2-1 at home last weekend to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Around the hour mark, it seemed as though it would be consecutive home defeats as Eberechi Eze gave the visitors the lead, but Spurs showed character and belief to pick up the three points.

Nonetheless, there was one individual who was simply outstanding and once again proved to be undroppable.

Cristian Romero’s 23/24 season in numbers

Cristian Romero has been an absolute rock at the heart of Spurs’ backline, especially under the Australian boss this season and alongside Micky van de Ven.

The "incredible" Argentine, as lauded by journalist Alasdair Gold this season, has started 21 matches in the Premier League this campaign, showing his vast skill set and ability to affect the game in both penalty boxes.

Over the campaign, Romero has scored four goals and kept five clean sheets while displaying his dominance both on and off the ball, as you can see by some of his key statistics from this season below.

Touches

89.1

Pass accuracy

92%

Interceptions

1.3

Tackles

2.0

Duels won

5.1

All of that was on display again this weekend in arguably his best performance in a Spurs shirt this campaign.

Romero’s game in numbers against Palace

Spurs were excellent from the first whistle to the last, despite going behind. Their dominance can be highlighted by their 78% possession, as well as the fact that Palace only had four shots all game and an xG of 0.32.

In truth, Romero didn’t have much defending to do other than deal with set pieces and long balls into the striker, hence his zero tackles, clearances, and blocks.

However, the 25-year-old showcased his ability to control the game and progress the ball, which was ultimately vital to Spurs overturning their deficit.

Goals

1

Touches

132

Passes (Accuracy)

117 (93%)

Passes into final third

15

Shots on target

2

Romero proved his importance to the side in the build-up, having the technical security and bravery to fire the ball into the final third 15 times while also taking a mammoth 132 touches and making 117 passes.

The fact that his pass accuracy was as high as 93% despite having such a high number is immense, but it was his threat in the final third that cements him as a rather complete defender.

After Timo Werner equalised in the 77th minute, the World Cup winner also scored the vital goal to put Tottenham one goal up, showing striker-esque movement to guide a header home from a looping James Maddison cross.

Overall, it was the perfect centre-half performance by Romero, even without the goal, and it further cemented him as one of the most important players for Postecoglou and Spurs.