Football News: Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool - A Quick Liverpool Perspective
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective
Worryingly, this was a second terrible performance in a row, this time against a very weak Spurs side, missing most of its defence, yet still this Liverpool team struggled to create many genuine clear-cut chances. It is astonishing how quickly it has all changed, just a couple of games ago, ahead of playing Manchester United, this Liverpool team were looking unbeatable and on course to cruise through the season. Has the hype gone to their heads and they merely feel they have to turn up to win? Have they just run out of legs? Perhaps it is just a consequence of trying to reintegrate injured players returning to fitness? Most likely though, there is a mix of all of those things affecting the team to various degrees.
There are a few things that are clear. Firstly, Liverpool's press is pretty much non-existent right now, even when they do press it is disjointed. That is such a key component of Liverpool's way of creating chances, it has to be fixed quickly before the season is derailed. Secondly, the team's ability to deal with opponents pressing is at its lowest ebb since before Klopp arrived. The players are constantly giving it away with silly passes in dangerous areas, which is in part down to the way the team is trying to bait the opposition on to it at the back. The slow passing around, trying to tempt the opposition to rush in and leave gaps, only works if you are able to get your passing right. At the moment, the team is constantly giving it away and providing the opposition with chances because of it. Maybe that can be put down to tiredness, but it is something that needs to be considered. Maybe now is the time to stop playing around with it at the back and move it forward into the opposition half, then pass it around in areas less dangerous.
Another worry is the lack of movement up front. There is little rotation on a slow build up. Usually we end up with 5 players spread across the frontline all stood waiting for a pass for long periods of the play. Without Alexander-Arnold on the pitch, we lack a player able to hit the killer pass from anywhere that forces teams to drop off or risk being done by a pinpoint ball, no matter how much pressure is on him. Bradley is an excellent player, but he is not able to do that, nor is anyone else.
The defence is struggling badly at the moment as well, the constant injury-enforced changes will not help, but it is more than that. It is a serious lack of protection from the midfield without Szoboszlai in the team. Gravenberch still lacks the defensive mindset to get in the right positions early and Mac Allister and Jones are the same but without the mobility to partly make up for their lack of defensive acumen. That leaves huge gaps for opponents to attack, usually in the space Mac Allister is meant to be, pulling Gravenberch over to cover and then there is a gap where he is meant to be down the right. With Salah instructed to stay higher, the full-back expected to push onto the opposing full-back to press, that leaves an imbalance. Before his injury, Konate was doing a superlative job of filling in the gaps singlehandedly, but it is only ever a slip or mistimed challenge away from being cut open. With Szoboszlai in the team, all Konate had to do was hold attacks up, as the Hungarian would be busting a gut to get back and fill in spaces. Neither Jones nor Mac Allister offer that work rate or defensive acumen. It still feels like this team is in need of an Endo or a more mobile midfielder, such as a Baleba or Ederson type, that will help create a solid platform at the back once more.
I do wonder if Slot took Spurs a bit lightly, due to their injury problems, hence playing so many players returning from injury, like he was just trying to get them match sharp in an easier match. That does seem like the case to a degree. Previously this season it probably would have been fine, but after that last match, confidence has to have taken a hit and it was probably not the time to make so many changes. Though I think more of the problem was that Slot has still not learnt to put out a midfield to battle and Spurs were able to bully them in there, like both Man Utd and Nottingham Forest did previously.
There were also problems with movement when the ball was at the back. When the team is looking to bait the opposition in and get past the press, there need to be players making themselves available for a pass. The passing out was poor and players were getting caught dawdling, including Alisson, but they were not given help or options to play the ball to.
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs are, as ever, a complete contradiction, a team that turns up and plays brilliantly against the big teams and then forgets to turn up against the rest. Once again they were up for it against Liverpool, their press was aggressive and they worked incredibly hard putting pressure on the ball when they could. There were still signs of the openness at the back that plagues them, but their midfield worked hard to provide protection and keep Liverpool at arm's length. They fully deserved the three points, as they managed to bully Liverpool off their game.
It certainly helped that their new keeper was extremely confident and strong on the ball, something they desperately needed with the way they play. In fact, he was very impressive overall, though he was not truly tested in most aspects of his game. His calmness was his most impressive quality, much needed when playing behind such a makeshift defence. Overall though, the thing that was most impressive about their performance, was the fact they played so well despite Son being so poor and looking miles off the player you expect him to be.
Liverpool
Alisson - in the first half, he made a good save and swept up well, but then dawdled on the ball and made mistakes in the second. Very mixed game for him and he is nowhere near his best since returning from injury.
Bradley - was poor early on, but did improve, though still offered little in an attacking sense. In fact, I was getting really annoyed with him on attacks as he just charged up field and then held a position high up inside Salah, making it difficult for Salah to offer anything. His movement was non-existent and they were able to just double up and block anything Salah did. He needs to learn to drop back and rotate around at times.
Quansah - awful game for him. He was terrible. With him in the backline, it was all over the place as he had an absolute mare. Really looks a mile away from making it as a Premier League defender.
van Dijk - was poor early on alongside Quansah, with the lack of awareness shown requiring him to do a lot of covering. Looked solid alongside Endo, but was not helped by Tsimikas being so poor.
Tsimikas - absolutely awful for most of the game, his delivery was abysmal. He did improve after the substitutions and suddenly discovered how to cross at the end of the match.
Gravenberch - a poor performance, he was sloppy on the ball and way off the pace defensively. He looked sluggish, probably tired.
Mac Allister - another who put in a poor performance, he struggled to make any positive impression on the game.
Jones - very poor game, he was pretty anonymous until giving the ball away with a silly flick and a bad dive towards the end of the game.
Salah - struggled until the triple change in the 60th minute. Was much better with Alexander-Arnold back alongside him. They gel much better in terms of movement and rotation.
Jota - possibly the worst player on the pitch, he was shockingly bad. Even his shooting boots seem to have deserted him.
Gakpo - I was surprised that he was taken off, as he had been Liverpool's best player. He at least offered a threat.
Endo - replaced the injured Quansah in the 30th minute. Looked massively superior as a defender to Quansah and it was noticeable how much better the defence looked with him in it. He is looking more and more like he deserves more minutes on the pitch. Every time he comes on, he performs to a high standard. Just looking at his performances, you have to feel that he must be pushing Slot hard to give him more chances.
Nunez - came on for Jota in the 60th minute. Immediately offered more than Jota had done throughout the game. Yet he should have done better when he had a chance.
Alexander-Arnold - was brought on in the stead of Bradley in the 60th minute. His arrival led to the team finally creating chances as he put good deliveries in. Instead of just standing up alongside Salah, he sat a little deeper and gave himself room to get on the ball.
Diaz - took Gakpo's place in the 60th minute. Linked up fairly well with Tsimikas.
Konate - Mac Allister went off to make way in the 80th minute. Massively at fault for Spurs' goal. Yes, Bergvall should have been booked (but then he should not have been booked initially), and yes Tsimikas being off the pitch for treatment after the foul left a wide open space but Konate could have easily seen off the danger. He was incredibly weak and failed miserably to deal with Solanke.
Written by Tris Burke January 13 2025 23:20:32
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