The scoreline flattered the home side. Liverpool may have lost the possession battle, but Jurgen Klopp's men put in a fantastic performance and expunged the demons from last year's 4-1 battering at Wembley to continue to bat 1.000 on the season. The first big six test was a rousing pass from Liverpool and they now turn their attention to the mid-week Champions League tie with PSG back at Anfield.
What Happened:
Liverpool got off to a flying start within the first minute when James Milner sent in a sublime ball to Roberto Firmino. Sadio Mane's play to the ball, however, ruled the goal offside. Multiple replays made it seem unclear who got the last touch, but Mane assuredly played the ball and was absolutely offside on the play. The pressure continued during the first ten minutes as Liverpool saw plenty of good chances, including Mane drawing a foul and Trent Alexander-Arnold testing Michel Vorm with a shot on target. From there, though, Spurs gained a foothold and outside of an individual Eric Dier error allowing Mo Salah to get a shot on target, nothing really troubled Spurs and they saw some freedom. That changed in the 39th minute.
Liverpool win themselves a corner and with Vorm crowded by men in red, Milner's in-swinger is dangerous. Vorm gets a punch and there's a defensive header by Dier, but the second effort is headed well by Gini Wijnaldum. Vorm saved it, but it was while the ball was in his net and the goal was given. Wijnaldum, with the goal, breaks his away league duck with and the Reds got a well-deserved lead that they took with them into the halftime break. The second half kicked off on fire as Andy Robertson's floated cross hit the bar followed immediately by a Mane shot forcing a save, but then Lucas Moura got past Joe Gomez and Alexander-Arnold to fire a shot at the outside of the post. Liverpool got the next laugh, though, with a fatal blow. Robertson's lofted ball up the pitch to Mane was stupendous and Mane cut the ball into the middle well, forcing Jan Vertonghen to try and make a play on it. He deflected it off his post, and Vorm scrambled for it, but it was Firmino who followed it up to slap it into the back of the net and give Liverpool a two-goal cushion.
The rest of the game, up to injury time, was all Liverpool. Tottenham looked tired, Pochettino's idea to drop Dier into a back three in the second half saw no real reward as the pivot man was absolutely winded by the time he was subbed off. Mental errors and physical exhaustion really affected Tottenham and they gave up plenty of the ball on misplaced passes or loose touches. Liverpool, though, couldn't capitalize, and it brought about a scare in injury time. In the 93rd, Christian Eriksen's corner made its way all the way to the back post and found Erik Lamela free with a lovely far post finish. The goal put hearts into Liverpool fans' mouths, and a Mane challenge on Son Hueng-Min certainly looked to have warranted shouts for penalty, but referee Michael Oliver gave a goal kick and that saw the end of any Spurs chances.
How Did This Happen?:
Liverpool put in maybe their best performance of the season since the 4-0 beating of West Ham, but they were almost oddly non-dominant. Spurs saw a 60/40 advantage in possession and had a higher passing success rate (81% to 75%) but did very little with those advantages. A lot of their possession and passing really did not lead to anything in any serious positions. The greatest weapon for Tottenham on the evening was the long ball or an attempted angled ball around the Liverpool defense to try and open up Harry Kane or Lucas Moura. Luckily for Liverpool, Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk were generally up for the task. Other than Gomez getting beaten by Moura when he hit post, Tottenham's best chance up to the Erik Lamela goal, the two center backs held strong and combined for eight clearances to clean up in defense. Kane was given nothing at all to latch onto and it's a massive credit to the two immense center backs for their job well done in silencing one of the best strikers in the league.
A lot of the analysis I'm personally interested, though, is Tottenham's set-up. It's no doubt that Pochettino was handicapped without Dele Alli available, but he decided to spurn a back three in favor of starting Harry Winks for the first time this season in a three-man deeper midfield with Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele. It did not work at all, I thought. A shift to a back three with Dier as a center back happened in the second half for a bit, but that was even worse. The midfield was overwhelmed by Liverpool's as James Milner and Gini Wijnaldum combined to have an absolute top class performance as midfielders. Milner's versatility defending deeper, pressing forward, or working as a sort of right wing back was a perfect storm is helping to stop any advancement of Tottenham getting forward, which his five tackles proved well. Wijnaldum, meanwhile, serves as the ideal link between the back line and midfield and was key in preventing Christian Eriksen from being his usual talisman sort of player. Dier, in particular, as I already mentioned, looked absolutely gassed. His play, and several mistakes, hurt his side in the match this morning.
That was a key to this match. Liverpool by the 75th minute were still pouncing on loose balls and winning possession away from Tottenham. Tottenham, in comparison, looked exhausted and sluggish. Jan Vertonghen was on Mo Salah the entire match, but even he looked tired by the end of the match. Salah, in comparison, despite some great defending on him, was still quick and able to make chances for Liverpool. The conditioning of Liverpool was on full display in the second half and they showed it off frequently. It is not that Spurs were abysmal, they just were a step off the pace of the match. Andy Robertson was a man on fire today and it seems he may just never get tired. He was outstanding and his pass in the final third was really what led to the second goal of the match and ultimately what would be the winner for Liverpool. He has continued to be outstanding for Liverpool and is, in my opinion, the top left back in the league.
Liverpool's attacking players also need some focus here. Sadio Mane and Salah both were perhaps two of the more important players in the match in terms of affecting Tottenham's ability to play the way they wanted to. That said, the finishing of both players should have been a bit better. Mane and Salah were both able to place a couple shots each directed at goal to force saves from Michel Vorm, but while the Reds snagged all three points, the two wingers should have finished at least another chance or two as a result of the exceptional positioning they were put into following takeaways in good areas. Even when not at their sharpest, they were still effective, but Jurgen Klopp will want his star men to finish their chances whenever they get them.
Final Thoughts and What's Next:
Liverpool played a pretty complete performance, and just a one goal result flatters Tottenham. It really does not matter though. Sure, Chelsea may have jumped Liverpool in goal differential and top the table now, but it is still far too early to be table watching. A win at a top six side is massive to kick start a big stretch for Liverpool, continuing on Tuesday at 3 PM with their first match of Champions League football of the season as they host fellow 1.000 winning percentage side, PSG of France's Ligue One.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
What Happened:
Liverpool got off to a flying start within the first minute when James Milner sent in a sublime ball to Roberto Firmino. Sadio Mane's play to the ball, however, ruled the goal offside. Multiple replays made it seem unclear who got the last touch, but Mane assuredly played the ball and was absolutely offside on the play. The pressure continued during the first ten minutes as Liverpool saw plenty of good chances, including Mane drawing a foul and Trent Alexander-Arnold testing Michel Vorm with a shot on target. From there, though, Spurs gained a foothold and outside of an individual Eric Dier error allowing Mo Salah to get a shot on target, nothing really troubled Spurs and they saw some freedom. That changed in the 39th minute.
Liverpool win themselves a corner and with Vorm crowded by men in red, Milner's in-swinger is dangerous. Vorm gets a punch and there's a defensive header by Dier, but the second effort is headed well by Gini Wijnaldum. Vorm saved it, but it was while the ball was in his net and the goal was given. Wijnaldum, with the goal, breaks his away league duck with and the Reds got a well-deserved lead that they took with them into the halftime break. The second half kicked off on fire as Andy Robertson's floated cross hit the bar followed immediately by a Mane shot forcing a save, but then Lucas Moura got past Joe Gomez and Alexander-Arnold to fire a shot at the outside of the post. Liverpool got the next laugh, though, with a fatal blow. Robertson's lofted ball up the pitch to Mane was stupendous and Mane cut the ball into the middle well, forcing Jan Vertonghen to try and make a play on it. He deflected it off his post, and Vorm scrambled for it, but it was Firmino who followed it up to slap it into the back of the net and give Liverpool a two-goal cushion.
The rest of the game, up to injury time, was all Liverpool. Tottenham looked tired, Pochettino's idea to drop Dier into a back three in the second half saw no real reward as the pivot man was absolutely winded by the time he was subbed off. Mental errors and physical exhaustion really affected Tottenham and they gave up plenty of the ball on misplaced passes or loose touches. Liverpool, though, couldn't capitalize, and it brought about a scare in injury time. In the 93rd, Christian Eriksen's corner made its way all the way to the back post and found Erik Lamela free with a lovely far post finish. The goal put hearts into Liverpool fans' mouths, and a Mane challenge on Son Hueng-Min certainly looked to have warranted shouts for penalty, but referee Michael Oliver gave a goal kick and that saw the end of any Spurs chances.
How Did This Happen?:
Liverpool put in maybe their best performance of the season since the 4-0 beating of West Ham, but they were almost oddly non-dominant. Spurs saw a 60/40 advantage in possession and had a higher passing success rate (81% to 75%) but did very little with those advantages. A lot of their possession and passing really did not lead to anything in any serious positions. The greatest weapon for Tottenham on the evening was the long ball or an attempted angled ball around the Liverpool defense to try and open up Harry Kane or Lucas Moura. Luckily for Liverpool, Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk were generally up for the task. Other than Gomez getting beaten by Moura when he hit post, Tottenham's best chance up to the Erik Lamela goal, the two center backs held strong and combined for eight clearances to clean up in defense. Kane was given nothing at all to latch onto and it's a massive credit to the two immense center backs for their job well done in silencing one of the best strikers in the league.
A lot of the analysis I'm personally interested, though, is Tottenham's set-up. It's no doubt that Pochettino was handicapped without Dele Alli available, but he decided to spurn a back three in favor of starting Harry Winks for the first time this season in a three-man deeper midfield with Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele. It did not work at all, I thought. A shift to a back three with Dier as a center back happened in the second half for a bit, but that was even worse. The midfield was overwhelmed by Liverpool's as James Milner and Gini Wijnaldum combined to have an absolute top class performance as midfielders. Milner's versatility defending deeper, pressing forward, or working as a sort of right wing back was a perfect storm is helping to stop any advancement of Tottenham getting forward, which his five tackles proved well. Wijnaldum, meanwhile, serves as the ideal link between the back line and midfield and was key in preventing Christian Eriksen from being his usual talisman sort of player. Dier, in particular, as I already mentioned, looked absolutely gassed. His play, and several mistakes, hurt his side in the match this morning.
That was a key to this match. Liverpool by the 75th minute were still pouncing on loose balls and winning possession away from Tottenham. Tottenham, in comparison, looked exhausted and sluggish. Jan Vertonghen was on Mo Salah the entire match, but even he looked tired by the end of the match. Salah, in comparison, despite some great defending on him, was still quick and able to make chances for Liverpool. The conditioning of Liverpool was on full display in the second half and they showed it off frequently. It is not that Spurs were abysmal, they just were a step off the pace of the match. Andy Robertson was a man on fire today and it seems he may just never get tired. He was outstanding and his pass in the final third was really what led to the second goal of the match and ultimately what would be the winner for Liverpool. He has continued to be outstanding for Liverpool and is, in my opinion, the top left back in the league.
Liverpool's attacking players also need some focus here. Sadio Mane and Salah both were perhaps two of the more important players in the match in terms of affecting Tottenham's ability to play the way they wanted to. That said, the finishing of both players should have been a bit better. Mane and Salah were both able to place a couple shots each directed at goal to force saves from Michel Vorm, but while the Reds snagged all three points, the two wingers should have finished at least another chance or two as a result of the exceptional positioning they were put into following takeaways in good areas. Even when not at their sharpest, they were still effective, but Jurgen Klopp will want his star men to finish their chances whenever they get them.
Final Thoughts and What's Next:
Liverpool played a pretty complete performance, and just a one goal result flatters Tottenham. It really does not matter though. Sure, Chelsea may have jumped Liverpool in goal differential and top the table now, but it is still far too early to be table watching. A win at a top six side is massive to kick start a big stretch for Liverpool, continuing on Tuesday at 3 PM with their first match of Champions League football of the season as they host fellow 1.000 winning percentage side, PSG of France's Ligue One.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
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