TOTTENHAM 2-2 LIVERPOOL: MATCH REVIEW

Liverpool ended a pulsating game at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium with honours even after an entertaining and somewhat controversial 2-2 draw. Kane and Son netted for the hosts whilst Jota and Robertson replied for the Reds. We review the game.

You can find player ratings from the match here:

https://made4liverpool.com/2021/12/19/player-ratings-tottenham-2-2-liverpool/

° Covid strikes again. Thiago was the latest to be ruled out with a suspected positive Covid test. He joined Van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones on the sidelines. With skipper Jordan Henderson also missing out through illness, Jürgen Klopp was without his entire first choice midfield and best centre back.

° The midfield selection. With just four midfielders left standing, the manager chose to hand Tyler Morton his full Premier League debut. The youngster has impressed in every outing so far in that DM position and you can understand the manager showing faith in him.

Alongside him were; Naby Keita who had that bright cameo in midweek, and veteran James Milner to provide a bit of leadership in the skipper’s absence. It was a midfield that had never played together before but the manager’s hands were tied.

° Fast start. The Reds flew out of the blocks and should have taken the lead as early as the second minute when Robertson headed Trent’s cross wide of the post with Lloris beaten. Milner then took aim from 25 yards out, before Trent stung Lloris’ palms with a fierce left footed strike. It was an impressive start.

° Kane goal. Trent passed to Keita to set off a counter, Naby ducked out of the 50-50 challenge with Winks and lost the ball. Ndombele picked it up and under no pressure, played a slide rule pass through to Kane who was being played onside by Robertson. It was a tidy finish past Alisson, with Konaté unable to block this time.

° “Too open on the counter. Take away Fabinho and Van Dijk and you’ve ripped half of the spine right out of the side. Their absence was noticeable every time Newcastle broke. Saint-Maximin found lots of joy on the break and could have put Newcastle ahead but for a strong handed save from Alisson.”

You can copy and paste that paragraph from the Newcastle game as once again Liverpool left themselves open to the counter attack. Spurs had three one on ones in the first half alone! Son screwed one wide, Alisson pounced on the second at Son’s feet before producing a world class save to tip Alli’s effort behind.

° Jota slots again. At 1-0, Spurs grew in confidence and should have put the game to bed with the chances they got. They didn’t though and Jota punished them with a beautifully planted header past a stranded Lloris. It was his 3rd headed league goal this season, no one has more. Whilst his tally of 10 league goals can only be bettered by teammate Mo Salah.

° Robbo’s goal. The second half saw Liverpool once again allow Alli and Kane in behind. Alisson again came up trumps, smothering Kane’s tap in. Minutes later Kane headed over with the goal gaping from a corner. The Reds once again punished their profligacy when Robbo nodded home Trent’s cross in the 69th minute.

° Son equaliser. Alisson undid all the excellent work that had come before with an inexplicable blunder. After charging out of his goal to deal with another pass in behind the defence, the Brazilian completely missed the ball and handed Son an open goal. It was a terrible mistake after all the great saves he had made.

° Refereeing decisions. The standard of refereeing in the PL has been poor for years, and the introduction of VAR has only exposed just how bad the situation is. Referees hide behind “clear and obvious error” when it suits them and last night was no different.

Apparently, brandishing a yellow for Kane’s studs up challenge on Robertson wasn’t a clear and obvious error but applying the same punishment for Robertson’s swipe at Emerson was. VAR was conspicuous in it’s abscence when Jota was barged over in the box too. Imagine if that was Kane that was fouled in the box!

° Backs to the wall last 15. Going down to ten men for the last 15 minutes was a real test of resolve with Spurs in the ascendancy and the home crowd sensing an opportunity to nick the win. The Reds rolled their sleeves up though and battled their way to a point, led by Milner and Konaté especially.

° Salah stifled. How badly did Mo Salah miss Henderson last night? Those darting run outside of Salah everytime the Egyptian receives the ball usually takes away one defender. Without that, Salah was easily double marked out of the game with Keita not offering much in support. Salah didn’t manage a single shot on target.

° Points dropped. It may seem very harsh to describe last night as points dropped especially when you consider Spurs had 6 big chances to Liverpool’s 1. When you’re going up against Guardiola’s multi billion pound side though, a draw is the new defeat, whilst a defeat is a full blown crisis.

Liverpool have now fallen 3 points behind City, with the Sky Blues winning their last 8 in a row. It’s the kind of winning run we’ve come to expect from them and it’s credit to Jürgen Klopp that he’s up there challenging them when he’s spent way less money. If not for the German, City would have won each of the last four league titles.

The race is far from over though, and with the Premier League not seeking to take an enforced break, we should see more twists and turns. Chelsea have now fallen 6 points off the top and travel to Gerrard’s Aston Villa next whilst City host Leicester City. The Reds themselves host injury ravaged Leeds United on Boxing Day.

° Up next. A League Cup quarter final clash at Anfield against Leicester City. Brendan Rodgers’ side saw their game at the weekend postponed due to an outbreak of positive Covid test results in the squad. It remains to be seen just how strong a side they can name. This represents an amazing opportunity to win a trophy.

With Man City (winners of the last four editions) already knocked out, Liverpool must have sights on winning the League Cup. We’ve seen just how difficult it is to outpace City in the league, whilst the Champions League comes with its own level of difficulty.

It is a crime for this side not to win as many trophies as they can, they genuinely are the best Liverpool side in history. That they went trophy less last season means they must greedily hoover up any trophies they can, and the League Cup this season is begging to be won.

The likes of Neco Williams, Joe Gomez, Tsimikas, Ox and Minamino will all be yearning for a start and could offer a rest for the regulars. Beat a likely depleted Leicester side at Anfield on Wednesday night and we’ll be through to the semis. What’s not to like?