Spurs’ utter dedication to their model of nonsense continues to strike courageous new floor, with the irredeemable Angeballers having now scored 10 targets throughout their final three residence video games but been soundly overwhelmed in two of these video games and had an alarmingly spectacular stab at shedding the opposite. Liverpool, in the meantime, are galloping gleefully in direction of the title regardless of in direction of the top permitting themselves to be dragged ever so barely all the way down to their opponent’s stage.
1. Gary Neville put ahead the suggestion within the closing phases right here that it is perhaps value merely giving Spurs residency of the 4.30pm Sunday slot for the remainder of the season. These of us tasked with discovering 16 issues to say about that fixture most weeks can certainly heartily agree.
However whereas it’s tempting to make this all about Spurs – as a result of let’s face it, all the things is actually all the time about Spurs – we actually should begin with Liverpool.
It’s straightforward – and enjoyable, and we’ll get there, we promise – to get distracted by the sheer relentless p*ss-take clown-car efforts of Spurs, each in the way in which they barely even competed on this match and within the ‘entertaining’ manner they lastly bought concerned lengthy after it was throughout, however for the primary 35 minutes or so right here Liverpool have been near perfection.
2. Sure, Spurs aren’t a staff towards which you want notably difficult concepts, particularly of their present lowered state. You already know all the things you could know simply by taking a look at that teamsheet and that supervisor. Regardless of how badly they is perhaps taking part in they will damage you; regardless of how effectively they is perhaps taking part in they are often damage.
Liverpool struck an ideal steadiness. The attention is of course drawn to the velocity and zip of the attacking play. Of the patterns of Salah and Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz, of the string-pulling of Dominic Szoboszlai, a person who spent 90 minutes right here seemingly not absolutely believing his luck to find himself, as soon as once more, 30-odd yards from aim with no opponent inside 10 yards of him.
They scored twice in that blistering 40-minute onslaught and will have had twice that a minimum of. That they had 10 photographs within the first half-hour; Spurs, for all their belated involvement as an attacking risk after the competition was over, managed solely 9 throughout the 90.
That Spurs quantity maybe factors to what was actually essentially the most spectacular factor about Liverpool in that opening spell, the component that has maybe much more relevance for future video games towards much less proudly and determinedly unserious soccer groups: the way in which that Spurs frontline was shut down.
Salah and co. dominating a defence containing one-fifth of its first-choice elements and by which the one midway reassuring presence is supplied by an 18-year-old, taking part in out of place, who a month in the past had by no means began a Premier League sport actually isn’t a fantastic shock.
However the velocity with which Spurs have been squeezed out and run over once they did vernture up the pitch was immense. The benefit with which Spurs’ uncommon assaults in that point weren’t simply halted unfussily however used as launchpads for an additional swift counter-attack was gorgeous to look at.
Spurs’ contribution to their very own despair can’t be completely ignored, however we wrestle to think about a extra full efficiency entrance to again than Liverpool produced in that interval.
Soccer being soccer, Spurs being Spurs, Liverpool then gifted them a route again into the sport with the Spursiest defending of the lot, however we’ll get to that later.
3. The primary Liverpool aim already felt effectively overdue by the point it arrived, and the way was largely unsurprising too. It will probably typically appear futile to even try a tactical evaluation of Angeball, however that they had arrange noticeably slender right here, with each Pedro Porro and Djed Spence tucking in and no nice width additional ahead both.
We’re going to file that one beneath ‘daring technique’. And it didn’t repay. We suppose the thought, such because it was, concerned stopping Salah or Alexander-Arnold or Diaz or Robertson occupying the half-spaces and selecting Spurs off from there.
However the factor with these gamers is that they’re all fairly useful in wider locations anyway. Particularly Alexander-Arnold, who doesn’t really want acres of area and hours of time to pick a world-class cross however was however supplied with each for Diaz’s opening aim.
A robust contender, too, for essentially the most ‘it simply needed to be him’ opening aim of any sport ever performed given what occurred on this fixture final season.
4. The second aim was once more a mix of slick Liverpool play assembly valuable little resistance, with Alexis Mac Allister virtually apologetically nodding residence having glanced across the six-yard field and found to his monumental shock that no Spurs defender was to be present in attendance.
It was embarrassingly poor from Spurs in fact, however one might have loads of sympathy with the gamers on the market who’re largely innocent pawns in a wider sport, footballers who’ve been badly let down by their membership and their supervisor and in addition very particularly at the moment the gamers in entrance of them on this staff to find themselves so ruinously uncovered.
5. The position of the 2 midfields on this match is simple to sideline given the wall-to-wall madness of what was unfolding in entrance of every aim. We’ve touched on it above, nevertheless it deserves its personal entry; it was key to the entire enterprise. Liverpool gained the midfield battle extra compellingly than every other contest on the sector. And crucially for Postecoglou and Spurs, there may be much less mitigation to be discovered right here within the form of personnel.
Szoboszlai working in entrance of a Gravenberch-Mac Allister pivot towards James Maddison doing likewise forward of Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr shouldn’t produce an final result as one-sided as this.
Liverpool’s midfielders have been faster in deed and thought, extra dedicated, extra energised and extra decisive. Regardless of the extra apparent horrors occurring elsewhere, right here is the place the competition was determined.
6. Then essentially the most surprising factor occurred. Spurs scored. Shouldn’t really be that surprising an occasion, given no person within the league does that specific factor extra typically or to much less tangible general impact than Spurs. However nonetheless. It actually didn’t look like it was going to occur right here.
However Liverpool went as Spurs as Spurs for a short second. Alexander-Arnold spent a lot of the first half showcasing his finest traits however nonetheless discovered time right here for his worst with a nasty move that put Mac Allister beneath strain. He was weak within the problem towards Dejan Kulusevski – a person who would ludicrously find yourself a real man-of-the-match contender in a 6-3 defeat – whereas James Maddison’s shot was made to look extra unstoppably exact than it really was by Alisson standing lead-footed to look at it previous him.
7. It’s laborious to make a critical level about this Spurs efficiency and its inherent clown-car f*ckwittery, but when there may be one it’s maybe this. On a day once they have been completely takne to highschool by a vastly higher and infinitely much less silly staff, they however discovered themselves with two scarcely deserved however undeniably actual alternatives to position that staff beneath important stress – right here at 2-1 and having in some way dragged themselves again to 5-3 with 10 minutes to go – and on each these events merely donated their opponents one other aim virtually immediately.
8. Okay, ‘merely donated’ is maybe harsh. Each targets have been effectively labored, however like all six targets contained a minimum of some extent of completely avoidable self-sabotage. It barely wants highlighting after a 6-3 defeat, nevertheless it was as soon as once more a sport by which absolutely the incapability of Tottenham to handle a sport or recognise when its key moments have arrived was to the fore. It’s been current in each defeat and victory over the previous few weeks however not often extra so than right here.
Alexander-Arnold possesses a depraved capacity to ship a protracted move, however right here wanted solely a protracted ball and subsequent flick-on to depart Liverpool, within the last added minute of a primary half Spurs have been about to get out of with the match in some way alive, with a four-on-two break that was duly and expertly rounded out.
There was an apparent gulf at school for a lot of this match, however steadily essentially the most eye-catching distinction was one in every of consciousness and actually fairly primary intelligence.
9. Liverpool’s two quick-fire targets within the second half to take Salah clear on the prime of the Premier League goalscoring charts have been extra of the identical actually. Undeniably lovely and slick Liverpool soccer, however an unavoidable sense of that soccer being made to look higher than it was by the sheer befuddled incompetence of the makes an attempt to cease it.
Salah’s numbers develop ever extra ridiculous, although. Two targets to take him clear within the Golden Boot, two assists to safe the double-double of 10 targets and 10 assists earlier than the season is midway accomplished.
It’s all the time attainable to seek out different causes and different elements and different gamers to reward for Liverpool being the place they’re. However whereas it’s lengthy stopped being in any manner a revealing factor to state it nonetheless does want saying that Salah is essentially the most essential element of all of it.
Seven photographs and three key passes are wild numbers to be recording away from residence towards a staff who, when the season started, would have been thought-about a real rival.
10. Wilder nonetheless, although, is that these Salah numbers have been virtually matched by each Luis Diaz (seven photographs, two key passes) and Szoboszlai (six, one) as Liverpool carved poor previous Spurs aside on the common. It did quite depart Cody Gakpo wanting a bit just like the opening batter who nicks off for nought early on in a complete of 823/7d. He’s Ollie Pope, is what we’re saying right here. At the least he bought booked so that there’s a minimum of a tangible reminder that he was concerned in a sport the place just about each different ahead on each side bought one thing out of their afternoon.
11. Salah gained’t have scored many simpler targets and at this level of the sport it actually did look like a case of simply what number of Liverpool felt like scoring.
It had, in reality, an identical really feel by this level to Spurs themselves at Southampton final week. Spurs took their foot off the gasoline and coasted to a 5-0 win with out including a aim within the second half and Liverpool simply barely lowered their ranges from this level as effectively.
That’s fully comprehensible, if barely disappointing for these of us who would very very like to see data despatched tumbling. No rating felt out of attain at this level, and whereas Liverpool deciding to protect power for the various various and larger battles forward made simply as a lot sense right here as Spurs’ personal considering did per week in the past, we’re nonetheless aggravated about it.
12. Especially as here that slight drop-off from the champions-in-waiting allowed Spurs to make the scoreline far more flattering than it ought have been. Right here we discover parallels with the Chelsea sport a fortnight in the past, in which Spurs suffered the most 4-0 of 4-3 defeats.
For further irritation worth, the 2 crack-papering targets Spurs scored have been glorious. They are surely a pack of pricks, this Spurs staff. They will’t even get thrashed correctly. Kulusevski, who’s having a genuinely good season and deserves greater than every other Spurs participant to be taking part in for a correct soccer staff quite than this failed experiment, volleyed residence beautifully earlier than Dominic Solanke confirmed power and composure to attain towards his former aspect.
What made these targets a minimum of midway palatable was the deserving nature of the scorers. Solanke’s all-round contribution to this Spurs staff is under-rated and under-appreciated; it’s laborious to begrudge him a junk piece of stat-paddery within the targets column. And Kulusevski proper now’s with out caveat or query merely the most effective gamers within the division.
13. For the briefest second it was inconceivable to keep away from the considered ‘FFS, what in the event that they make this 5-4?’ as a result of it actually did appear attainable for a second there. However the alacrity with which Liverpool put out that fireside earlier than it might actually begin solely served to remind us all of what was taking place: Spurs’ ‘comeback’, such because it was, all the time remained in Liverpool’s reward to permit or shut down.
For the second time within the match, when the prospect of real gentle peril surprisingly re-emerged, Liverpool have been capable of quell it in a second. They actually might have scored as many targets as they wished to right here, and we’re vastly if greedily aggravated with them that they determined six could be ample when different sillier and funnier numbers remained so totally accessible.
14. The place it leaves these groups is fascinating. There was a fast and comprehensible try from remaining Ange Postecoglou apologists and loyalists to painting this all as a largely unavoidable consequence of things outdoors his management. That Liverpool have been just too good and Spurs too brief in our bodies and expertise.
There’s mitigation definitely within the defensive harm checklist, though Ange can’t be excused blame completely right here given his personal position in Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven being rushed off and again on to that checklist simply earlier than the busiest time of the season.
However additionally it is simply usually too simpler a wriggle off the hook for Postecoglou to be allowed to even try to “the-way-we-play-mate” his manner out of it. Everton have Dyched their method to goalless attracts towards Arsenal and Chelsea this week. Liverpool have dropped latest factors towards each Newcastle and Fulham.
Liverpool are a superb aspect however this was not the mission inconceivable Postecoglou’s staff made it look.
15. What Postecoglou undoubtedly did get proper, nonetheless, was in taking a look at this week’s video games and putting all his eggs in the Carabao basket. He’s desperately in need of gamers proper now and what he believes is at present his finest (least worst?) XI began on Thursday and once more at the moment. That was all the time asking so much, however Spurs and Ange – by their very own apparent strengths and equally obtrusive weaknesses – do look rather more like a cup aspect than a league one.
Two humorous issues there, in fact. First, what a mortifying day this turned out to be for Manchester United; slapped 3-0 at home by Bournemouth after which compelled to look at what a correct staff does to the very Spurs staff that they had misplaced so cartoonishly towards three days earlier. The second is that Postecoglou’s very right prioritising of the Carabao on the attainable expense of a humiliating collapse towards Liverpool within the league is that he now will get two extra video games towards them within the cup.
Liverpool shall be extra inclined to make adjustments for these video games, however we ponder whether Arne Slot may have a look at this sport, at a primary leg within the first week of January when Spurs will nonetheless be equally depleted to at the moment, at a second leg within the first week of February when a number of lacking males could have returned and ponder whether his finest wager isn’t to only go full power within the first leg and type all of it on the market after which. There simply appears no purpose to danger permitting the second leg to be of any significance in any respect when Spurs have proven right here – even at one thing near their worst – that they continue to be able to inflicting injury of their very own.
16. However the entire framing of that scenario sums up the trajectories of those two golf equipment over the past six years higher than most. For Spurs, the Carabao Cup semi-final already carries outsized significance. For Liverpool, it is going to barely be of their ideas over a festive interval the place they need to count on to cement their dominance on the prime of the desk and metal themselves for a title race which now, intoxicatingly, comprises completely no Manchester Metropolis in any respect. It’s the bountifully gifted however – in comparison with Liverpool – callow and fragile Arsenal and Chelsea with whom they now do battle.
They need to completely count on to come back out on prime in that battle. And so they’ll in all probability additionally achieve this within the Carabao with out even actually attempting or caring. It is perhaps they only should accept 6-3 as solely an mixture rating in that one.