Liverpool went two points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League in typically emphatic style on Sunday afternoon, as they obliterated Tim Sherwood’s Spurs by four goals to nil at an atmospheric Anfield. The result, coming off the back of incredibly favourable Saturday results concerning title rivals Chelsea and Manchester City, puts Liverpool in a position from which they are viewed by many to be favourites to win the league from.
Line ups
Things didn’t look good for Tottenham even before the cones for the pre-match warm ups were set out, as it emerged that focal man Emmanuel Adebayor would be unavailable for the match at Anfield due to a cut on his heel not recovering in time for him to play. A hugely intimidating attacking line-up set out by Brendan Rodgers would have done nothing to improve the outlook in the Tottenham camp, as Joe Allen was sacrificed in order for Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling to both be in the starting XI, rather than one or the other, which has been the case in recent weeks. Other than that there were no changes for the Reds, who obviously had goals in mind, setting up with an offensive 4-3-3 formation. Meanwhile, Sherwood also tinkered with his line-up; dropping Mousa Dembele to the bench with Gylfi Sigurdsson replacing him after his late goal sealed Spurs a 3-2 home win against Southampton last time out. The change also allowed the formation to be a more defensive one, something that is becoming common place for teams visiting Anfield. The 4-3-3 of last week became a 4-2-3-1 this week, with Bentaleb and the previously mentioned Sigurdsson as the two holding midfielders.
The Match
One of the many plaudits Liverpool players have received this season is that they start games quickly and today was no exception. After only 90 seconds had been played The Reds found themselves a goal up – albeit quite fortuitously – through a Younes Kaboul own goal. A cross field ball from Philippe Coutinho found Raheem Sterling in ample space, and the teenager picked out Johnson who had embarked on a trademark run into the box. Slipping it through the Spurs defence into the full backs feet, Johnson then delivered a low cross which deflected into the Spurs goal off the Frenchman’s dancing feet. A dream opening for Rodgers’ men, who were clearly aware of the potential effect winning would have on their title hopes.
Liverpool didn’t sit back after the positive start; instead they shifted through the gears, in search of a vital second goal. They were dominant in both possession and chance creation, and after Tottenham had their first sight of goal capably cleared by young Jon Flanagan, a quick counter attack was initiated. Sterling found Luis Suarez, who couldn’t test Hugo Lloris’ goal to the extent he would have liked. Suarez himself nearly created an opportunity, but his cross sailed fractionally over Daniel Sturridge’s head. This was the first sign of the famous ‘SAS’ link up play on the day. Shortly afterwards, Suarez’s creative ability carved open an opportunity for Philippe Coutinho but the Brazilian’s volley went comfortably wide of the Spurs goal. After these unfruitful yet positive moves, Liverpool began to recline a little bit, enjoying long spells of possession now they had the lead.
This red dominance continued consistently, eventually paying dividends in the 25th minute as Luis Suarez took advantage of a calamitous mistake in the Tottenham defence, before rushing into the box and expertly converting a one-on-one situation into the far corner with his left foot. Michael Dawson’s attempted pass to Kaboul was closed down, and a slip from the latter is what allowed Suarez in on goal. Opportunistic and composed: in all, a very Suarez-y goal.
A hugely significant goal in many ways, that; not only did it mean Liverpool had doubled their lead in the match, but it also meant Suarez was now Liverpool’s top scorer in a Premier League season: his 29th of the season surpassing Robbie Fowler’s previous record of 28 (With 6 games to go…).
Finally, Spurs managed to pose a threat just after this potentially killer blow from Suarez. The imperious Martin Skrtel did brilliantly to close down a tricky Christian Eriksen , whose shot was goal bound had it not been for the Slovakians interference. The ball fell for Sigurdsson, though his header was comfortable for the previously untested Mignolet. In the aftermath of this, Liverpool really tightened up at the back. Every Spurs player was seemingly glued to red figures, so no passages of play could infiltrate the final third.
After coping with the only period of white coloured pressure thus far, Liverpool attempted to re-establish their dominance in the closing phases of the first half. Sterling’s immense work-rate led to an out-of-the-blue chance for Suarez. After pick-pocketing Kaboul deep in the opposition half, Sterling’s accurate cross picked out the Uruguayan’s head, whose effort was saved magnificently by Lloris and hit against the underside of the cross bar as a result. Liverpool were threatening to run as wild as they did at White Hart Lane in December.
Bar a Luis Suarez free kick curling a fair distance wide (by his lofty standards, ‘’inches wide’’ by everyday folks’ standard), nothing of particular note happened in the closing stages of the Liverpool-dominated first half.
Liverpool fans and Rodgers could only be delighted by the display so far, while Sherwood would have been painfully disappointed by the lack of desire shown by his men. Despite this, the Spurs manager chose to refrain from changing anything at half time.
In the opening stages of the second half, Liverpool aimed to pick up where they left off; Sterling again working hard to keep the ball in play on the touchline, though the England international couldn’t locate anyone with the resulting cross. Following this, Soldado had his first real involvement when he got the better of Daniel Agger in the Liverpool box. An agonising lack of white shirts to supporting him reflected how worried they were of conceding more to a motivated Liverpool side. No help, no goal – Agger regained himself, earning a goal kick for Liverpool from what could have been a dangerous situation.
For the first time, Liverpool looked short of ideas going forward. In the space of 5 minutes, the final ball through the defence was inadequate and consequently cleared 4 times. Suddenly, fantastic link up play between Sturridge and Sterling resulted in the latter being in acres of room in the opposition box, and then opted to find a better placed team mate; the onrushing Jordan Henderson fired a glorious chance into the Kop.
This latest wave of Liverpudlian pressure was only ever going to end badly for Tottenham, and so it proved as Philippe Coutinho arrowed a low 20 yard strike past the reaching hand of Hugo Lloris. The goal was made possible through Jon Flanagan’s (or Scouse Cafu, Flani Alves, Marco Flan Basten. Many borderline funny alternatives are available) ability to turn away from the pressure opened up the whole of the Anfield turf to run in to, before picking out the usually erratic shooter, who claimed his first Anfield goal since his 30 yard blast against QPR on the closing day of last season. Here, the game was won after 55 minutes.
The third goal was an energy drainer for Spurs who, when faced with the seemingly unbeatable Liverpool defence, resorted to taking often erratic long shots. Bentaleb was just one of many Spurs men who fired a shot into the upper Anfield road end just before the hour mark. It took until the 59th minute before Tim Sherwood took a pro-active approach to get back into the game, introducing the fresh legs of Andros Townsend and the strength of Mousa Dembele to inject pace on the counter and earn more control in the midfield respectively. Lennon and Bentaleb were the two who made way. Shortly afterwards, Joe Allen was introduced by Brendan Rodgers to counter the effect Dembele could have, reverting to the diamond midfield which worked so effectively at Southampton and Manchester United earlier in the month. Coutinho was sacrificed, but received a deserved standing ovation for his performance. In addition to the goal, Coutinho could often be found sweeping up at the back to bring it calmly out of the final third. The move worked, with Allen’s introduction to re-earn Liverpool’s dominance in the midfield, as Gerrard dropped back to his familiar role of defensive midfielder.
Back to the action, where Sturridge saw his impressive back heel shot denied, after which Gerrard was substituted in order to save himself from being suspended. (He is one yellow card away from being so, with two games to go before the records are wiped.) On came Lucas Leiva to fill his position, still working his way back to full fitness after yet another lengthy injury.
Five minutes later, in the 75th minute, Jordan Henderson whips in a dangerous ball from a wide free kick. So dangerous in fact that it finds its way through the densely populated penalty area and into the back of the net for his 3rd goal of the season.
Nacer Chadli nearly restored some dignity for Tottenham, but the Liverpool defence was not to be beaten on the day, as Agger came across to superbly block the Belgian’s low effort. The resulting corner leads to Dawson finding himself with a huge opportunity to get a strike on target. However, similar to far too many of Spurs’ previous shots, it’s a Liverpool fan sat in the Upper Annie Road who catches it rather than Mignolet. Jon Flanagan also got in on the blocking, as he threw himself in front of a Soldado effort, making Mignolet’s day much more relaxed than he anticipated.
It was one of those days where Liverpool could have thrown Victor Moses into the fray and it wouldn’t have helped Spurs’ case. Coincidentally, that’s exactly what happened in the 83rd minute; Raheem Sterling was the man whose day was cut short, although many awarded their personal Man of the Match award to the wide men.
From then on Liverpool sat back and ran down the clock. Spurs came close to grabbing a cancelation late on through a Dawson header, which landed harmlessly on the roof on the Anfield Road net.
All in all, it’s another day that’ll live long in the memory of every Liverpool fan, and yet another disastrous performance that Spurs fans will be keen to forget. The contrasting implementations of this result are staggering: for Liverpool, it sends them to the top of the Premier League, with some pundits even going as far as to label them ‘favourites’ for the title, while Sherwood’s Tottenham will now be facing the harsh reality that, once again, a place in the Europa League will be their loftiest ambition during the run in, with Everton well placed to take even that accolade from them.
In terms of Man of the Match candidates, Raheem Sterling was mentioned by just about everyone, however Jon Flanagan put in a performance equally deserving of that title. Arguably, the two Liverpool centre backs, Agger and Skrtel, also did, as their partnership begins to look as solid as ever. Luis Suarez’s goal and expected brilliance could mean some would be inclined to award it to him. One thing is definite though; the amount of players who deserve a MOTM award really does reflect the brilliant team, managerial and even fan performance today. What an afternoon for Liverpool!
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