Great Dane’s gone walkies
CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN used to be known as the ‘Great Dane’ who provided the pedigree in Tottenham’s midfield.
But at Anfield, his game was more like a dog’s dinner.
Most of what Eriksen touched turned to mush on an afternoon that suggested his heart and head are no longer with the north London club.
It has been a difficult start to the season for Mauricio Pochettino’s men. The giddy heights of reaching last season’s Champions League Final have been replaced with some shocking lows.
One of them being Eriksen publicly stating that he wants out.
His failure to escape in the summer coincided with a sense of bewilderment spreading through the dressing room.
He has been in and out of the side while Spurs have laboured to more defeats than wins.
Last week the squad, including Eriksen, headed into London’s Mayfair for a team dinner and decided to invite Pochettino and his coaching staff along.
Humble pie must have been on the menu, because Pochettino decided to recall Eriksen for this crunch showdown with Liverpool, the side that beat them to be crowned European champions in June.
His last start in a big domestic game was against Arsenal in September, but here he was returning to the right side of a tried and trusted 4-2-3-1 formation.
Yet Eriksen can no longer be trusted in this kind of form.
While the likes of Eden
Hazard and Aaron
Ramsey applied themselves with great distinction in their final campaigns with Chelsea and Arsenal, Eriksen is a shadow of the player he used to be.
In fact, he was so bad he might as well have had a red shirt on.
His first contribution was to pass the ball straight to Fabinho.
His second was to pick out Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren.
Moments later Andrew Robertson waltzed round him like he wasn’t there, while at the start of the second half even the simple task of staying on his feet proved too difficult.
When Jordan Henderson equalised for the hosts in the 52nd minute, Eriksen had the gall to try and rouse his team-mates as they trudged back into position for the restart.
Most of them didn’t even look at him. They’d probably forgotten he was on the pitch.
He offered Serge Aurier little to no protection on the right flank as Jurgen Klopp’s men came from behind to sweep into the lead.
Pochettino persevered with his passenger until the 88th minute, by which time the damage had been done.
His decision to pick Eriksen ahead of Tanguy Ndombele appeared brave to begin with.
In the end, it was barking mad.