- Romario and Royal exchanged words just after the referee whistled for half-time
- Roy Keane said it was a positive sign but urged both players to defend better.
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Tottenham defenders Cristian Romero and Emerson Royal were involved in a heated argument during the match against Liverpool.
Ange Postecoglou’s side continued their poor first-half performance at Anfield when Mohamed Salah opened the scoring with a header in the 16th minute.
Andy Robertson then struck the ball from close range to double Liverpool’s lead just before half-time.
The afternoon turned sour for Tottenham when Romero and Royal argued in the middle of the pitch as both groups of players headed to the tunnel for half-time.
Goalkeeper Vicario quickly ran out of his area to separate the two defenders who had clashed.
Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane claimed the incident was a positive sign but urged Romero and Royal to defend better.
He said: “I generally don’t mind that kind of behaviour, because it means you care about the game.”
“But they should have that kind of aggression in their defense and in their players. Spurs have been very, very poor.
“I don’t mind, but you have to bring that aggression to your overall game, which is something we haven’t seen from Spurs.”
Salah’s first goal came after losing Royal at the far post before heading the ball home.
Roy Keane said it was a positive sign but urged both players to defend better.
The Brazilian defender was then robbed by Harvey Elliott, who crossed the ball into the box for Cody Gakpo to put Liverpool 3-0 up five minutes after the break.
Romero’s failure to clear his lines was punished once again when Elliott scored with a stunning strike.