Huge blow for Liverpool as nervy draw at home to Tottenham spurs on City
Jaded Liverpool snatch a point but it is advantage City in the great title race
MAYBE the Quadruple was always an impossible dream. Maybe it was always an insane ambition foisted on this Liverpool team by others. But as it slipped away from Liverpool a little at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp’s side fought against the dying of it with every ounce of energy and every moment of fury and every bit of defiance they could muster.
Trailing to a quite brilliant counter-attacking goal from Tottenham Hotspur, they drew level and then threw everything they could at their visitors in search of the winner. But Spurs would not yield and as Liverpool supporters pleaded and beseeched and begged for the winner, time ran out. Manchester City, licking their wounds on their retreat from Madrid, are that bit closer to winning the Premier League.
Liverpool’s draw with Antonio Conte’s side took them back to the top of the table but only on goal difference. And if City can recover from the shock of that traumatic Champions League defeat in the Bernabeu and beat a resurgent Newcastle United at the Etihad today, they will be three points clear with three games to play.
This was just a game too far for Liverpool, who looked low on energy and invention against a well-drilled, clever Spurs team for whom this draw was a fillip in their battle with Arsenal for a Champions League place.
That battle may be decided at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday in the north London derby and this result means Spurs will go into it in good heart. Liverpool gave everything — and we will wait to see quite how damaged City are by events in Spain — but this was the first time either of the two teams who have been duelling for the league has blinked.
Win followed win followed win. It was relentless but in Spurs, Liverpool came up against an opponent who would not yield and would not be overawed. Liverpool play Aston Villa away on Tuesday, Southampton away and Wolves at home.
They must win all of them and hope that City lose one of their matches against Newcastle, Wolves away, West Ham away and Villa at home.
City broke in Madrid but will they break in Manchester today or Wolverhampton or at the London
Stadium or against Steven Gerrard’s Villa?
Liverpool subjected Spurs to intense pressure from the kick-off but everyone knew this was a dangerous match. The roars of the fans were deafening as the home team surged forward time after time. But even as they attacked, some worries lingered among the home supporters. Spurs might just be the best team in the league on the counter-attack.
Certainly, it is hard to think of a pairing as quick, as clever and as attuned to each other’s runs and movements and thoughts as Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. Dejan Kulusevski has become a willing foil to their rapier thrusts forward and Spurs made it clear early on that they had not come to Merseyside as Liverpool’s patsies.
Spurs have found the secret to unpicking Manchester City and as Liverpool dominated the early stages, there were moments of alarm when Spurs broke forward. Kane crossed for Son in the seventh minute, forcing Alisson to rush from his line and seven minutes after that, Liverpool were indebted to a superb block by Jordan Henderson when Kane fired a left-foot shot goalwards. Liverpool’s first chance did not come until midway through the first half and that was from a set piece. Henderson forced a corner, at the expense of a nasty blow on the ankle from a scything tackle by Cristian Romero, and when Andy Robertson swung it over from the left, Virgil van Dijk rose majestically at the back post but his header went narrowly over the bar.
Six minutes later, Liverpool went close again.
In his haste to defend a cross, Ryan Sessegnon got to the ball in front of Henderson but inadvertently looped a header towards the back post where Salah was waiting. Hugo Lloris flung himself to his right and tipped the ball away from the Liverpool forward, the newly crowned FWA Footballer of the Year. Liverpool were struggling to make chances from open play but seven minutes before half-time they nearly scored from another corner.
Again, Van Dijk rose highest to meet the kick, this time from Trent Alexander-Arnold, and this time his header clipped the top of the crossbar. Two minutes later, Lloris saved well from Luis Diaz.
But the Spurs threat was still there and a minute later, it was the visitors who nearly took the lead. Son broke from midfield but when he was confronted by Van Dijk, he played the ball square to PierreEmile Hojbjerg. Hojbjerg steadied himself and then unleashed a
vicious, skimming low drive that evaded Alisson’s right hand but bounced to safety off the outside of the post.
Twelve minutes after half-time, the worst fears of Liverpool’s fans were confirmed. Emerson Royal launched a long ball out of defence that seemed to pose little danger but Kane brought it down beautifully and advanced on goal. He thought about shooting but laid the ball wide to Sessegnon and he drilled a perfect cross into the path of Son, who turned it over the line.
The Spurs fans behind that goal in the Anfield Road End went wild. It was only the second goal — after Milot Rashica’s goal for Norwich on February 19 — that Liverpool have conceded at home in the Premier League this year. And two minutes later, Spurs nearly scored again when Sessegnon combined again with Son. This time, Sessegnon’s touch was a little heavy and the ball bounced off Son’s foot and behind for a goal kick.
Now it was like the Alamo. Liverpool threw everything at Spurs. And Spurs repelled everything as best they could. Ben Davies produced a tremendous diving block to deny Salah, defender after defender flung themselves in front of the ball. It felt for a while as if their defence would not be breeched.
Then, with a quarter of an hour to go, Luis Diaz got the ball 25 yards out and danced left to right across the face of the Spurs box. When he found space for a shot, it took a heavy deflection off Rodrigo Bentancur and span past Lloris into the corner of the net.
Bill Shankly’s old claim about the Kop sucking shots into the opposition goal felt as if it had been brought back to life.