Ange Postecoglou has been criticised for presenting the identical reply it doesn’t matter what query was posed of him. For a lot of this encounter in opposition to Liverpool, hopeless Tottenham didn’t even do this. They have been simply dangerous.
Till the end result was already past any cheap doubt, there was not even a sponge cake on supply from Postecoglou’s facet right here – simply an empty plate. Whereas their inappropriately gung-ho method has been vexatious to followers and enormously enjoyable for the remainder of us, to be left with out even that for a lot of the sport was far, far worse.
That Liverpool would management the run of play was to be anticipated, and defensively, Spurs no less than have the excuse of enjoying virtually a totally makeshift goalkeeper-and-back-four combo. However it was genuinely surprising how poorly they did regardless. Conceding six targets at residence to a divisional rival ought to set alarm bells ringing anyplace, whatever the high quality of the opposition.
Much more shocking simply how little Tottenham’s full complement of midfield and attacking personnel provided in return, Dejan Kulusevski excepted. The one shocking a part of the scoreboard on the ultimate whistle was the ‘3’ on Tottenham’s facet, not the ‘6’ on Liverpool’s.
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Tottenham’s slender 4-3-3 appeared to scream at Liverpool’s broad males: “cross all you want, we’ll defend the width of the field”. The knowledge of that’s extraordinarily questionable when dealing with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah within the first place – we hear they’re each fairly harmful from broad areas – however Liverpool gladly accepted their finish of that provide; Spurs didn’t stay as much as theirs.
Alexander-Arnold was in glorious type, and his cross for Luis Diaz from acres of house deep on the Liverpool proper was inch-perfect, however the Colombian was fully unchallenged as he contorted his physique to information the ball into the far nook.
Liverpool’s second featured an identical build-up: Cody Gakpo discovered himself blocked off on the left, so merely tapped it again to Andy Robertson to cross as an alternative. Dominik Szoboszlai might solely head it straight up within the air, however Alexis Mac Allister was there to run below it and nod into the highest nook.
The guests had had a solution to each little bit of what little Spurs did to check them for 41 minutes, however 30 seconds of inattention allowed Tottenham their first two pictures on the right track.
Pape Matar Sarr shot straight at Alisson after Spurs countered off Szoboszlai’s heavy contact, however James Maddison was sufficiently extra correct to search out the underside nook after Kulusevski compelled a free ball out of Mac Allister simply exterior the Liverpool field. Virgil van Dijk bizarrely seeming to maneuver out of the trail to objective and Alisson overwhelmed when it appeared as if a greater response would have made for an easy save.
That was as beneficiant as Liverpool acquired, although, and so they restored their two-goal benefit in added time in distressingly easy trend: a lump of a protracted ball from Alexander-Arnold, flicked on by Szoboszlai for Salah, who slipped it again to the Hungarian as he charged into the field earlier than firing by way of Fraser Forster’s legs.
Tottenham might have appeared barely extra threatening after the break, however – in typical Tottenham trend – of constructing them extra porous than ever. Salah’s two tap-ins each got here on the finish of a lot too easy counter-attacks the place Spurs discovered themselves fully outnumbered.
Szoboszlai and Diaz ought to every have matched Salah’s brace earlier than Tottenham’s belated fightback, however the former fired broad after a protracted, straight ball from Alisson despatched him clear by way of to spherical Forster, whereas Diaz lobbed onto the roof of the online after Salah had once more given the poor Tottenham keeper a one-on-one to cope with.
By some means, although, Tottenham discovered a method to make the scoreline extraordinarily Ange-y as Liverpool gave each impression of assuming their job was full. Kulusevski completed effectively after a blocked ball into the field fell properly for him to fireplace previous Alisson, and Dominic Solanke acquired freed from van Dijk to slip residence Brennan Johnson’s looping header again throughout the field.
Sufficiently roused by the prospect of getting to defend a two-goal lead for an additional seven minutes plus stoppages, Liverpool confirmed the prior sense that they might rating virtually at their very own will by restoring their three-goal cushion simply three minutes later courtesy of Diaz, who this time made no mistake as he discovered the underside nook off one other Salah by way of ball.
For Tottenham to be the highest scorers within the Premier League and but to eleventh at Christmas is simply essentially the most great nonsense…however it doesn’t communicate in any respect extremely of Postecoglou’s capacity to rise to the form of problem anticipated of him.
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