Reds are so classy, Tottenham simply had to play it safe

JOSE MOURINHO may get some criticism for setting up Tottenham negatively but I understand why he did it. The truth is Liverpool are a far classier team, especially Jurgen Klopp’s front three, and if Spurs had pressed high to appease the fans, they would have got taken apart.

This Liverpool side are something else. To win 20 of 21 matches in this Premier League, which is probably the most competitive in the world, is breathtaking. We are entering new territory and given Spurs were without their main goal threat,

Harry Kane, I can see the sense in doing your best to hang in there.

It nearly worked, too. Credit to Spurs they got back in the game later on with the score still 1-0, and maybe could have nicked an equaliser. So I think Mourinho probably did the right thing, to come out swinging against a team as good as Liverpool might have been catastrophic. Instead, they nearly gained a valuable point.

Liverpool’s consistency is phenomenal. They can come out and overpower teams, as they did at Leicester on Boxing Day. They can also control games and see them out. They did it in the Champions League final against Spurs and they’ve done it repeatedly this season — that is why they are champions-elect.

At one time, Liverpool under Klopp only had one gear, frenetic.

Now they have Allisson and Virgil van Dijk and can win matches in different ways. To have the bestever start of any team to a season is a fantastic achievement.

As pundits and football fans, we’ll be talking a lot about whether they can go the whole season unbeaten like Arsenal’s Invincibles, or beat Manchester City’s points tally of 100, which was historic in itself.

But the way Liverpool are playing, I honestly don’t think they are considering those milestones. To win the league after 30 years is enough in itself. Last night’s performance at the new White Hart Lane was about concentration and fitness, and suggested they are not thinking ahead.

The game management now is brilliant. Maybe they were a little bit passive in the second half yesterday rather than going for the kill, but the final result says they got it right, again.

They can slow the game down when they needed to. Joe Gomez has come back into the side and was fantastic. Adam Lallana came off the bench. I think of him as a creative player but he made two fantastic blocks because that is what the match situation demanded.

As for the final third, Mane, Firmino and Salah are a nightmare to play against. So much quality. Firmino’s finish was excellent.

Personally, I don’t think they will go unbeaten. You only need one off-night and the record is done. But it won’t matter if they end up as champions. And the way Klopp is going he might win the league early and be in the latter stages of the Champions League, and have the ability to rest players. What a wonderful position that would be.