Dier-bolical!
Eric’s shocker as Spurs gift yet another head start
IT SAYS everything for what Tottenham can do when the mood is right that Liverpool finished this game playing with a back five that at times resembled a back eight. When their blood is up, Antonio Conte’s side can make things very difficult for the very best.
There is one habit that Tottenham must break, though, and that is the one that involves giving the opposition a head start. Whatever sport you play, you will never get very far if you wake up only when your opponent is already halfway round their first lap.
Liverpool led 2-0 at half-time and had been magnificent at times. Mo Salah scored two superbly taken goals. Deep in Jurgen Klopp’s squad, there are signs of life.
But to those who watch Tottenham regularly, this followed a familiar pattern. This was the sixth successive game Tottenham have trailed and indeed the 13th time in 20 games in all competitions this season.
Oddly it is a habit Liverpool know all about too. They have also suffered this way over the course of what for them remains a very strange season. But two Salah goals, early and late in the first half, gave Klopp’s team enough of a buffer to withstand a second half revival that was still developing momentum when the final whistle blew on 94 minutes.
The entertainment was not in doubt nor was the commitment of the players, many of whom are hoping to begin a World Cup free of injury in two weeks’ time. Anyone who leaves games at this stadium before the end has not recently been paying attention.
But much of what can be thrilling to watch about Tottenham has at its root a certain desperation. Teams that are always chasing games are usually great to watch. They do not tend to win much, though, and this is the issue that will irritate Conte as he heads into a winter break and then a January transfer window in which he will expect to be busy.
Both Salah goals were superbly taken. The Egyptian is now looking a little more like his true self. Early on, with Tottenham slow to start, Liverpool were exceptional and after Darwin Nunez twice threatened from range, Klopp’s team eased into the lead.
The goal had its roots in some lovely Liverpool passing. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harvey Elliott were first to combine deep inside their own half and when Roberto Firmino and Andy Robertson became involved the ball was delivered into Nunez inside the Spurs penalty area. Tottenham had six players in and around the area of danger but still Nunez was able to move the ball inside to Salah and when his first touch teed it up perfectly, he struck it low with his left foot and into the corner of the goal.
Spurs had hardly seen the ball and the afternoon already had an ominous feel to it. Improvement did come and, with AlexanderArnold struggling against Ryan Sessegnon, Tottenham could have found an early way back.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson punched a Harry Kane cross against his own post and then saved from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Alexander-Arnold was also lucky to escape after he appeared to nudge over Sessegnon in the box.
The game was a contest by now and 1-0 down would not have been the worst half-time scoreline for Tottenham. But when Eric Dier made a mess of heading Alisson’s long kick down the middle back to his goalkeeper in the 40th minute, Salah scuttled through to lift the
SAVVY SALAH POUNCES TO GIVE DIER A HEADACHE
ball over Hugo Lloris. Spurs were booed off at half- time and it was not surprising. There was an element of self harm to so much of what they did.
But their second-half performance was spirited. While Salah and Nunez both shot weakly at Lloris when poised to kill the game, Liverpool were largely on the retreat. Dier tested Alisson with a header and then Ivan Perisic crashed a shot against the bar.
Eventually, it was two Conte substitutions that unlocked Liverpool’s door with 20 minutes to go. Matt Doherty fed Dejan Kulusevski inside and the Swede — playing his first football since an injury in September — slid through to Kane who swept it across Alisson and into the far corner.
Briefly both sets of coaching staff came together on the touchline. Conte was booked. But the real drama was unfolding on the field
and given some of the calamities that have befallen Liverpool recently, the smart money may well have been on an equaliser.
Tottenham came close. With this huge stadium irresistibly energised, Clement Lenglet and Rodrigo Bentancur both threatened with headers.
Then, with Liverpool all but lined up across their own
18- yard line with a minute remaining, Kane moved deftly across the near post and applied a back header to a Perisic cross that was almost perfect. It wasn’t though, falling the wrong side of the goal.
Tottenham would just about have deserved their equaliser but they must learn their lesson and soon.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (3-4-1-1): Lloris 6; Dier 5, Lenglet 6, Davies 6; Royal 6 (Doherty 68min, 6.5), Bentancur 6, Bissouma 6.5 (Moura 88), Hojbjerg
6.5, Sessegnon 6 (Kulusevski 68, 7); Perisic 6.5; Kane 7. Scorer: Kane 70. Booked: Conte. Manager: Antonio Conte 6. LIVERPOOL (4-3-1-2): Alisson 7; Alexander-Arnold 6; Konate 7,
Van Dijk 6.5, Robertson 6.5;
Elliott 6.5 (Henderson 74, 6), Fabinho 6, Thiago 6; Firmino 6.5 (Jones 74, 6); Nunez 6.5 (Gomez 87, 6),
SALAH 7.5 (OxladeChamberlain 90).
Scorer: Salah 11, 40.
Booked: None.
Manager: Jurgen
Klopp 7. Referee: Andrew Madley 6. Attendance: 62,008.