Outclassed

Tottenham’s defensive frailties and the limitations of Jose Mourinho’s negative tactics were ruthlessly exposed by a resurgent Liverpool on a chastening evening for the North Londoners.

Liverpool came into the match winless in their last five games and without a goal in three successive Premier League outings. Tottenham, by contrast, were unbeaten in eight. Disregarding the form table, Mourinho opted to play a back five in an attempt to contain rather than attack Liverpool. It was all the more surprising given that Jurgen Klopp was again forced by injury to deploy Jordan Henderson at the heart of his makeshift defence.

The visitors immediately took the initiative and should have been ahead inside two minutes. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s sweeping pass found Mane, who played a quick one-two with Salah to escape the Tottenham rearguard. With only Lloris to beat the Sengalese forward skewed his shot horribly wide of the target.

His wastefulness was almost instantly punished. Tanguy Ndombele pirouetted away from Thiago and Wijnaldum before zipping a ball forward to Son. The Korean immediately exchanged passes with Kane, allowing him a clear run on Alisson’s goal. Faced by the keeper, Son cooly steered the ball inside the near post. But his celebrations were cut short when a VAR review showed he had been fractionally offside at the inception of the move.

With Roberto Firmino dropping deep and none of the overstaffed Spurs defence willing to follow him, Liverpool began to dominate possession as the game wore on. Just before the quarter-hour mark, Tottenham’s prospects were dealt a severe blow when Thiago’s scything tackle left Klane clutching his ankle. Gamely the striker played on for the rest of the half, but his movement looked increasingly restricted. That did not stop him teeing up Son for another excellent chance to open the scoring. Having saved Firmino’s snap shot, Lloris instantly launched a long punt down the field. Kane and Bergqwijn combined to set Son away. But with Alisson offering the entire left side of his goal to the forward, Son could only aim a weak left-footed shot straight at the keeper.

Mane then tested Lloris’s reflexes having run on to Salah’s cunning dinked pass. With thirty minutes played and Liverpool pushing hard, Tottenham appeared content to keep the score 0-0 until half-time – stationing all 11 men behind the ball. It did little to stem the rising red tide. On 36 minutes Mane burst on to Firmino’s pass only to be thwarted by a superb last-ditch tackle by Rodon. Soon after Mane went close again, forcing another fine save from Lloris. But Liverpool were not to be denied. With virtually the last action of the half, the Merseysiders made the breakthrough they deserved. Hendeson found Mane in the left channel, who steered the ball between the hesitant Dier and Lloris for Firmino to tap home.

It was a crushing blow for Spurs, compounded by Kane succumbing to his injury at the interval. Lamela replaced the England captain, while Harry Winks was also introduced for Aurier. The pair had barely touched the ball when Liverpool doubled their lead. Mane turned away from the struggling Doherty and fired a speculative shot along the sodden turf. Lloris could only parry the ball awkwardly as far as Alexander-Arnold, who lashed it beyond the keeper.

Before Mourinho’s rage at his team’s ineptitude had reached a crescendo on the sidelines, Tottenham pulled a goal back. Almost directly from the restart Davies’s overlapping run afforded Bergwijn the space to pull the ball back to the edge of the area. Hojbjerg – seeking his first Tottenham goal – battered the ball into the net with his right foot.

The Liverpool response was swift. On 56 minutes Salah blasted a left-foot shot beyond Lloris at the near post following a neat combination between Firmino, Thiago and Mane. The goal, however, was harshly ruled out following a VAR check. Replays showed that during the build-up the ball had brushed Firmino’s arm as the striker tried to hold off Eric Dier on the halfway line.

Tottenham’s reprieve was short-lived. Eight minutes later the outstanding Alexander-Arnold surged forward again before delivering a wicked cross into the Spurs box where Rodon appeared to have lost his bearings. Fatally, rather than dealing with the danger, the young defender allowed the ball to run across his body. Mane stole in and thundered an unstoppable drive into the roof of the net.

Without Kane, there was to be no way back for Spurs. Son cut an isolated figure up front, barely touching the ball in what remained of the game as Liverpool comfortably played out time. That Mourinho waited until the 80th minute to send on Gareth Bale suggests he currently has little faith in the Welshman. If Kane is to be out for any length of time, however, the Tottenham manager will surely need to coax more from Bale than he has managed thus far.

With Spurs now four points adrift of the Champions League places, Sunday night’s match at Brighton is categorically a must-win. If Mourinho approaches the game with the same caution as he did here, Tottenham will likely struggle.