Liverpool (Home) 06.11.2022

It was an example of Klopp playing in a way that he invariably criticises other teams for and overbearing arrogance doesn’t make him a “character” as Jamie Carragher and all the other Liverpool apologists claim, but a nasty presence who is willing to abuse officials to try to get his own way.  It is hard to see why the media idolise him, but then I suppose it was the same with Mourinho, in that they will always love someone who will give them controversy or a sound-bite.

As far as the game went, it was fairly even, with maybe Spurs edging it.  Well, they would have with a half-decent referee taking the game.  He let Liverpool dictate the match with players in his ear all the time, allowed them to waste time (especially towards the end of the match) and he let them get away with the big decisions.  Particularly when it came to incidents in the box.  Ryan Sessegnon raced into the left side of the Liverpool area in the first half and seemed clearly to be shoved in the back (never being shoulder to shoulder) by Alexander-Arnold, who struggled to keep up with him, but there was no penalty given nor even a VAR review (nothing shown on the big screen to say that it was taking place anyway).  Late on in the match, when Spurs were seeking an equaliser, Thiago Alcantara went to kick the ball as Lucas Moura (standing as the ball popped up, not bending down to it) and caught Lucas in the head.  The first shout for a penalty cruelly exposed the old adage that fouls are not given in the box but would be elsewhere on the pitch.  It was proved as he gave a free-kick prior to the incident against Bentancur for something like the foul by the Liverpool player (but not as blatant) and then gave another similar one afterwards … both outside the box.  The second penalty claim was at least consistent, as he had failed to give a free-kick when one of the Spurs player was caught near his shoulder by a Liverpool boot when he was at full height.  It was consistently bad, but bad decisions on both accounts.

While Liverpool took the points, the game was one in which Tottenham gave a good performance, with one mistake costing us the match.  While it is particularly disappointing, what is more disappointing is the response from elements of the Spurs crowd.  The booing at half-time was harsh, as we should have had the penalty when it was 0-1 and then we hit the post at the same score.  The second half performance (as has become custom) was almost all one way, with Liverpool pushed back into their own half.

Darwin Nunez had gone twice gone close coming from the left, with Hugo making a flying save to his left as the Liverpool striker struck the ball as it bounced up kindly for him and the second saw him try a low curling shot that went a few feet wide of Lloris’ left-hand post.  With ten minutes gone, a long ball from right to left gave Robertson the chance to feed Nunez down the left and his ball into the middle of the box found Salah knocking the ball up to strike a low volley from 12 yards out to Hugo’s left, with no chance for the keeper to move.  Despite the fact that Sessegnon tried to get a challenge in on the goal-scorer, there were five white shirts around the area he shot from that either didn’t realise that he was there or didn’t react to the danger.  It was disappointing but not out of keeping with our first half slow starts that have been seen over the last few matches.

The response was good, with Harry Kane putting in a cross from the right wing to the near post, where Alisson came for it, but Perisic beat him to the ball.  Ivan’s header came off the keeper, who was all at sea, striking the post before being cleared.  In the second phase of the move the ball went to Pierre Hojbjerg on the left side of the D and his low shot saw Alisson got down behind it, but fumbled it, being grateful that one of his defender’s was there instead of a Spurs player.  It was only two minutes after that when Sessegnon was pushed down in the box.

It had been Spurs controlling the game and moving forward but a long ball from the keeper down the middle, which I didn’t think was the way Klopp thought the game should be played, was landing on Eric Dier’s head with Salah lurking but not near the ball.  Eric tried to head the ball back to Lloris and with the Liverpool forward there he tried to make sure he got enough on the header to take it back to Hugo, with the ball coming off his shoulder and dropping for Salah to take in on and lift it over Hugo’s dive to the left and the keeper went right.  

Elliott tried a low shot from outside the box, with Hugo getting down to it to push it wide for a corner, with the same player putting the ball into the South Stand when the corner came in.  And it was audible from the South Stand that there was booing when the half-time whistle blew.  Spurs have no divine right to win matches and have not done so consistently over the years.  If fans want to see someone win all the time, go and follow Man City or Celtic, as the support offered to the Spurs team is not helped by the negative attitude when we go behind.  The big support has seen the team come back from losing positions lately and in the second half, things did improve, but the support for the team is reactive to what is going on rather than getting behind the team whatever the situation.  The last two Champions League matches have shown our support up compared to the backing our opponents get.

Spurs made a cracking start to the second half with Sessegnon hitting a clearance back at goal on the volley that Elliott blocked, with Fabinho taking Bissouma and Hojbjerg out within a couple of minutes.  Dier almost made amends with a header to Perisic’s corner that Alisson dived on just in front of the line.  Straight after, Dier played a ball curled across the middle of the box, with Sessegnon alive to it and he pulled the ball back from the left to Perisic, who had pulled back while the Liverpool defender ran in.  Hitting the ball with his left foot just outside the six-yard box, the ball rebounded off the bar with the keeper beaten.  

The surge from Tottenham continued with a Dier cross needing to be pushed over the bar by Alisson and then Ryan curled an effort just off target, but the need to be alert was emphasised when Nunez played in Salah and his attempted finish was sliced and Hugo took the ball comfortably when it was probably the easier chance than his two goals.  With Salah through, taking advantage of Lenglet’s mistake, the Frenchman recovered to make a great sliding tackle to deny the opportunity, although the offside went up anyway.  Sessegnon was unlucky not to get on the end of a cross from Bentancur from the right wing, as Harry got in before him, although Sessegnon was coming onto it and may have had the better chance.  When Kane did get a decent header to a Perisic free-kick, it glanced off his head and wide a minute before Dejan Kulusevski was called off the bench.  A minute later, Spurs had scored.  Dier and Doherty worked some passes on the right wing before Deki slipped a ball into the right hand channel in the box and Harry struck it first time across Alisson and into the net on the far side of the goal.  It was a typical early strike by Kane before Kouate could get to him that put Tottenham back in the match.

Perisic was giving Alexander-Arnold a run-around on the left wing and a perfect in-swinging cross was headed on by Kane with Bentancur inches away from meeting it at the far post.  Spurs pushed and pushed and although Nunez struck the bar at the other end, he was offside and the match ended with Henderson shouting in the lineman’s face for not giving him a throw-in, when the last touch was clearly off him.

Liverpool players’ slow departures when substituted in added time and the endless time taken over every goal-kick demonstrated how keen they were to take the three points here.  It is surprising that Conte was the only recipient of a yellow card in the match and that was for trying to hurry the game along when a Liverpool coach was hanging onto the ball in their technical area.  It is simple to see how the Merseysiders have struggled this season, with van Dijk looking beyond his best and Alisson all at sea every time the ball went into the penalty area.  It is also clear to see why there are doubts over Alexander-Arnold’s inclusion in the England World Cup squad with the right back believing the hype surrounding him and being questionable when defending and not as good as is claimed in attack.  

Tottenham allowed them space to play and pass the ball around a bit, but when closed down in the second half, they looked average.  The fact that they had a two goal start was about all that saved them.

The return of Kulusevski was a bonus for Spurs and his immediate impact shows what we have been missing.  Dier had been putting in crosses from the right that troubled the visiting defence, but Kulsevski’s smart pass for Kane provided the bit of creativity we need.  Perisic and Sessegnon had tormented Alexander-Arnold on our left wing with both Hojbjerg and Bentancur joining the attack in the second half, where there had been a vacuum between the front two and the players who had dropped deep to defend. 

There will be wholesale changes for Wednesday’s League Cup tie at Forest before we end the first half of the season at home to Leeds.  Two more games and two wins would leave us in a very good position for when the season starts again on Boxing Day.

Stevo (North Stand)

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