'The outcomes can be much better when you're playing on that edge'

Wayne Rooney thinks players are better when they play with an edge but thinks Tottenham felt the frustrations of emotion overflowing in Saturday's defeat to Liverpool.

Spurs lost Xavi Simons to a straight red card against in the 2-1 defeat when he was dismissed for a foul on Virgil van Dijk in the 33rd minute following a VAR review. Simons scraped his studs down the calf of his Netherland's team-mate and captain, with referee John Brooks upgrading his original yellow card to red.

Spurs' own captain, Cristian Romero, lost his cool late in the game when he kicked out at Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate after a tangle to receive a second yellow having already picked one up earlier for dissent.

"I thought it [Simon's] was a strange red card because obviously Van Dijk is captain for Holland as well, and so I wouldn't think that he's meant to do it. I think it's just probably a rush of blood to his head," he told The Wayne Rooney Show podcast.

"I think sometimes it's better, and in the big games as well, playing on that edge and having that little bit of hunger in a weird way.

"It's quite difficult to explain, but playing on that edge in the big games is better, but then you're at risk of overflowing a little bit and I think with the two red cards that happened.

"The second red card, the Romero one, I think is soft. I think Konate's played on it a little bit, but I think playing on that edge you're at danger of getting a red card or something silly happening. However, the outcomes can be much better when you're playing on that edge. I think that's what people want to see as well."

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