Liverpool extended their lead at the top with a 1-0 win over Tottenham. Roberto Firmino scored the only goal of the game as Liverpool held on despite a late Tottenham push.
The pre-match talk had been around who Jose Mourinho would play in midfield. He opted for better passes in Harry Winks and Christian Eriksen that indicated Tottenham would try and play football against Liverpool. It was the surprise inclusion of Japhet Tanganga at centre back that took most by surprised as veteran Jan Vertonghen was left out.
Tanganga was on hand to prevent the first goal of the game. Liverpool counter attacked quickly and Firmino had a goal-bound shot blocked by the debutant and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the rebound hit the post, with the ball cushioning off Tanganga and safely into the arms of Paulo Gazzaniga. Liverpool had shown early intent but Tottenham would also as Lucas Moura and Heung-Min Son flashed efforts wide. Dele Alli shot over as Tottenham seemed to be bringing the game to Liverpool.
That was, though, about as much as Tottenham attacked. It was all very passive and although Mourinho (not out of choice) played Winks and Eriksen, the high press from Liverpool stopped Tottenham from playing through the lines and were resorted to long balls from defence to attack. Virgil van Dijk will always beat Lucas Moura in the air.
Virgil van Dijk went closest as he should've scored as Liverpool reworked a corner but the Dutchman could only head straight at Gazzaniga. Liverpool had had the better chances and would eventually score albeit controversial. Replays show Tottenham should have been awarded a throw in that was given to Liverpool as the ball went out off Saido Mane not Serge Aurier. From the resulting throw in, Liverpool opened up Tottenham with Salah finding Firmino whose first touch opened up his body and he smashed in the opener.
Tottenham showed no threat towards Liverpool after the goal and that carried on into the start of the second half. Mourinho in big matches tends to favour sitting deep and waiting on the opposition to make a mistake and Liverpool, normally so dominant and in control, started to let errors creep into their game. Son broke at pace at the Liverpool defence and was just stopped by a tackle from van Dijk. The ball fell to Aurier but his shot was straight at Alisson.
The game was becoming more open and Tottenham were gaining a foothold in the proceedings and Klopp's substitution of Oxlade-Chamberlain for Adam Lallana returned the game to the equilibrium. He brought on a more technical player to link defence to attack and Lallana made an impact when he came on. Complacency was not fully erased from Liverpool's mind and Tottenham again pushed for an equaliser.
A rare high press from Spurs meant they won the ball high up but Son missed a great chance. A player of his quality should be scoring. Another chance came for Tottenham when Lo Celso ghosted in and from Aurier's cross somehow put the ball wide. It was a better chance than Son's and it was beginning to seem increasingly likely Tottenham would go level.
The pressure, however, did not result in a goal. Divock Origi almost scored a nice individual goal late on to put the nail in the coffin and Son had Tottenham's last chance but his effort from outside the box went straight into the hands of Alisson.
Another win for Liverpool and Leicester's loss earlier means the champions elect are now 16 points ahead with a game in hand. The second half was a significant improvement from Tottenham but even though Liverpool didn't play at their best, it was a crucial win on the basis of the performance. The Reds march on.
Comments
Post a Comment