Tottenham Hotspur missed a great opportunity to close down the gap at the top to Chelsea as they lost 2-0 to Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday in the Matchweek 25.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men never really took off against the Reds, who were yet to win a single league game since the beginning of the new year. And they rightly were made to pay for some poor defensive play by Ben Davies, when Sadio Mane was played through by Giorginio Wijnaldum and the Senegalese international found the back of the net with aplomb.
Only two minutes later, Mane was at it again, harrying Eric Dier for the ball in the Spurs’ half, before charging into the box and setting up Adam Lallana, whose powerful effort was parried by Hugo Lloris, only as far as Roberto Firmino, but the Brazilian’s effort was blocked by the Tottenham captain. But the ball fell mercifully to Mane, who made no mistake and within 18 minutes the home team were 2-0 up.
There were a couple more opportunities for Liverpool and Mane as the Tottenham defence was carved out way too easily by the Liverpool players, but the scoreline remained intact thanks to some smart saves by Lloris. Things did not change much in the second period as Tottenham continued to look completely off their game and with time the game just frizzled out, handing Pochettino’s side their first league defeat since the turn of the year.
Let’s assess how each Spurs player fared on an extremely disappointing evening:
Hugo Lloris – 6/10
Was put under a lot of pressure by his struggling defence. Despite conceding two early goals, made plenty of key stops to keep the scoreline down.
Kyle Walker – 5/10
Was unable to get forward at all as James Milner forced him deep into his own half and as a result, Tottenham struggled as he is one of the primary attacking outlets for them.
Eric Dier – 3/10
Caught on the ball by Sadio Mane in the lead up to the second goal. Looked a liability for the entirety of the game, looked short on pace and got himself booked late in the game. Disappointing performance.
Toby Alderweireld – 6/10
Unlike his defensive partner, Alderweireld did not crumble under the pressure. But a lack of support from his partner and the midfield meant he was overwhelmed at times by the numbers with which Liverpool attacked.
Ben Davies – 2/10
Outclassed by the excellent Mane. Lacked the pace and the awareness to deal with the former Southampton man’s threat. At fault for the first goal and looked out of depth for the entire game. Danny Rose can’t get back sooner for Tottenham.
Victor Wanyama – 4/10
An uncharacteristically poor display from the Kenyan. Was pressed off the ball by the Liverpool midfielders, gave away possession cheaply on plenty of occasions. Outran and outperformed by Lallana and Wijnaldum.
Moussa Dembele – 6/10
Had a few good moments in possession but could not do enough to bring his team back in the game. Much like Alderweireld, wasn’t helped one bit by his struggling partner, leaving him with too much to do all by himself.
Christian Eriksen – 4/10
Struggled to produce anything of note in the final-third of the pitch and seemed to struggling with Liverpool’s incessant pressing. A decent effort from a set-piece aside, an extremely ineffective display by the Dane.
Dele Alli – 5/10
Tried hard to get into the game and impose himself, but wasn’t allowed to do so. Did not lack effort as he gave his everything but failed to have a positive influence.
Son Heung-Min – 5/10
Should have halved the deficit in the first half but was denied by Simon Mignolet. Forced another stop from the Belgian stopper, but other than that was invisible. Booked for a poor lunge on Firmino.
Harry Kane – 3/10
Could never get into the game as he was starved of the desired service thanks to the pressure Liverpool applied and as a result had to drop deep on occasions. Looked lethargic at times and hardly had a touch in the Liverpool penalty box.
Substitutes
Harry Winks – 5/10
Replaced Eriksen in the 68th minute and kept it simple in the midfield. Booked for a foul on Milner.
Moussa Sissoko – NA
Came on for Dembele in the 77th minute. Did nothing of note.
Vincent Janssen – NA
Replaced Son in 82nd minute, not enough time to make an impact.
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