Tottenham star Cristian Romero explains clash with Manchester United captain Harry Maguire

Tottenham defender Cristian Romero has spoken out about taunting Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire following his own goal against Spurs last month.

The centre-half put through his own net in the second half in the encounter, which the Red Devils won 3-2 thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick. After the own goal, Romero was seen celebrating in Maguire’s face before running off to join his teammates.

The defender has now publicly addressed what happened in the incident for the first time. The Argentina international said he had “respect” for Maguire, whom he described as a “top player”, but didn’t quite issue a full apology.

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“I think sometimes things happen in football and maybe if you capture a moment with a single photo it can seem like something that wasn’t really happening,” he told The Athletic. “I’ve got nothing but respect for Harry Maguire. He’s a top player who is having a great career.

“And generally I always respect my opponents so I think people who don’t know about the game get hold of a story and run with it and talk about something that’s not really there. Maybe on that occasion I didn’t quite do the right thing but I had no bad intentions.”

Romero, 23, has been instrumental in Tottenham’s recent uptick in form. He’s helped his side to four clean sheets in their last seven league outings.

And thus it seems Spurs will have the last laugh this season despite March’s defeat to United. Antonio Conte has guided Spurs to fourth in the table, and they are now favourites to take the final Champions League spot.

Meanwhile, United linger in seventh, some six points off fourth, following their dismal 1-0 defeat to