Just before Christmas, Jurgen Klopp declared that the only team who don’t change the way they play when they face Liverpool is Manchester City. The clear inference was that the rest of the Premier League seek to limit the damage against his team.
Here on another memorable Anfield afternoon, Totttenham changed all that.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team conceded a goal at either end of this game to the astonishing Mohamed Salah and also managed to miss the penalty. Still, though, Tottenham left Merseyside with a point and for all the talk about the rights and wrongs of some of the decisions, it was the very least that they deserved.
Tottenham left Merseyside with a point after drawing 1-1 against Liverpool on Sunday
For large periods of this game, Liverpool struggled to get the ball. A possession statistic of 34 per cent for Liverpool spoke volumes for the authority that Tottenham stamped on the contest once they had survived an error-strewn opening 20 minutes.
This was a mature, confident Tottenham performance and one wonders what it may have done for their belief, both in the Premier Leagueand in Europe.
Prior to this Tottenham had played beautifully in beating teams like Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid at their temporary Wembley home. Defeat in this game, however, would have been one to add to setbacks on the road at Old Trafford, the Emirates and the Etihad.
So this felt like a landmark moment for a Tottenham team as well as for their impressive centre forward Harry Kane.
This was an interesting Kane performance. His first penalty was won with what looked suspiciously like a dive, even if it was not in the same league as the one contributed by team-mate Delle Ali a little earlier in the second half. Kane then missed it with one of the worst penalties of his career.
The draw was the very least Tottenham deserved against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool outfit
But the 24–year-old has not reached the levels he has in recent seasons without a seam of self-belief running through him and the way he beat Lorus Karius with his second spot-kick with only a minute left of added time was suitable for a man who now has 100 Premier League goals to his name.
On the touchline, Pochettino’s celebrations were unusually animated. In his recent book, the South American said that he doesn’t like to show too much emotion in case it affects his players on the field.
Here he broke his own rules and why not? Only two minutes earlier, Klopp has marked Salah’s exquisite second goal with a dash down the touchline that looked at one stage as though it may end with he Liverpool manager diving in to the Kop.
So Pochettino’s bout of first-pumping was not only mild by comparison but also indicative of what this meant to him. His team are capable of playing super football but they have not won anything and also have a reputation for under-performing on the really big occasion.
Whether that is deserved or not is a matter for debate but what is beyond contradiction is that performances like this can hope to swing the conversation Pochettino’s way.
Mauricio Pochettino’s celebrations on Sunday were unusually animated at Anfield
Had Tottenham lost here it really would have been unfair. They were all over the place for the opening passages of play and could have been two or three down before they switched their collective mind in to gear.
From that point on, however, they were the better team. Against City here recently, Liverpool ran Pep Guardiola’s team off the park with the sheer intensity of their effort. A 4-3 result actually flattered the champions-elect.
Here it was very different. Liverpool were once again able to play in a rarified atmosphere of support that would bring a tinge of green to Jose Mourinho’s gills but on this occasion their opponents refused to bow to their will and when the home team’s legs began to give way on them in the seccond half they were left playing purely on the counter. For once it was not by choice.
For once a Liverpool goalkeeper emerged as one of the home team’s best players. If this was a big afternoon for Tottenham, so it was for Karius. The German was excellent on the whole and those blaming him for punching and not catching the Christian Eriksen cross that ulimtaley led to Victor Wanyama’s howitzer equaliser with ten minutes left should probably consider just how hard that drive across goal was struck.
It looked, for a minute or so, that a combination of Karius and Salah had won this game for Liverpool. Kane’s century goal served as fitting final act.
Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius was excellent on the whole in the Premier League clash