Ange Postecoglou spoke in glowing terms of Tottenham’s backline and reserved special praise for Cristian Romero for the way he has led this young Tottenham defence.
While Tottenham have had no issues creating chances and finding the back of the net, they have also shown a considerable improvement defensively this season.
Despite being so open and playing such a high line, they have only conceded eight goals in the Premier League so far.
The defence was put under a lot of pressure at Kenilworth Road, having to play with ten men for the entirety of the second half after Yves Bissouma received his marching orders just before the interval.
The Tottenham centre-backs, in particular, coped really well with the physicality of Luton’s forwards, with the home side often going direct in an effort to hurt the Lilywhites.
When asked about the performance of his defenders, Postecoglou told Football.London: “They’ve been great all year, both of them, the whole back four and Vic.
“I think a big part of that is Romero because when you look at it, it’s Destiny’s first year in the Premier League, Micky’s first year in the Premier League, Vic’s first year and Porro just beginning his Premier League career.
“But they’ve got a World Cup winner beside them and I think he makes them feel like they belong. They feel really comfortable having him beside them and you can see them flourish.”
LUTON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 07: Micky van de Ven of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring the team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Luton Town and Tottenham Hotspur at Kenilworth Road on October 07, 2023 in Luton, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)
Postecoglou impressed with Micky Van de Ven
The Australian also credited Van de Ven for the way he dealt with everything the Hatters threw at Spurs.
He added: “Micky was outstanding today with the way he dealt with it. We knew when playing here against Luton we would have to deal with a lot of long balls and physicality, but you know Micky has outstanding physical qualities but he’s also maturing and learning as a player as well.
“All of them, Emerson and Benny when they came on, I thought the guys who came on today and needed to defend did really well. Again credit to Matty Wells as well who works hard with them every day.”
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We are still dangerously exposed at the back on occasions when the opposition manages to effectively switch play, which is to be expected, given how we line up.
However, Romero, Van de Ven, Porro and Udogie are all outstanding in one-on-one situations, which means that they manage to bail us out more often than not.
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