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Tottenham Hotspur Match Reports
Tottenham Hotspur 3-6 Liverpool: Reds run rampant as Spurs struggle
This match was on all the drugs.
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It’s never a great time for Tottenham Hotspur to take on Liverpool, but the timing of today’s match was worse than most. A brutal run of fixtures amidst an injury crisis has exhausted the Spurs squad, and a match against the league leaders was probably not on anybody’s Christmas wishlist.
Ange Postecoglou named an unchanged side following Spurs’ midweek win over Manchester United, but this was a match that followed a much different trajectory as Liverpool put a tired Tottenham team to the sword. The Reds took a two-goal lead early via Luis Diaz and Alexis Mac Allister, with Mo Salah taking shots at will. Things momentarily looked brighter for Spurs as James Maddison slotted home following Dejan Kulusevski robbing Mac Allister of possession, but any hopes were immediately quashed as Liverpool scored a late third as Dominik Szoboszlai benefited from a defensive calamity by the Spurs backline.
The second half began largely with more of the same. Salah made good on his threats, collecting a double as Spurs’ makeshift defense struggled to deal with the movement of Liverpool’s attack, with the Tottenham midfield exacerbating matters with giveaway after giveaway. It was threatening to look like a cricket score, before Spurs decided to make things interesting with two quick goals: one each for Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski, who scored in the fifth match running.
Changes from both sides, including bright cameos from Timo Werner and Lucas Bergvall, added fresh energy to the pitch as both teams began to slice through each other at will. Some Spurs fans perhaps began to believe the impossible could become improbable, could become reality. It was not to be though, as Luis Diaz added another to the scoresheet for Liverpool and quashed any chance of a late Spurs comeback.
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That was bad. That said, it’s not like we learned anything new. The squad is tired, we have a midfielder / fullback playing at center back, and zero depth.
The press has been huge for Spurs this season. Even today, it contributed to Tottenham’s first; but it was largely bypassed by Liverpool. Their ability to find an out-ball was phenomenal, and Spurs’ lack of energy showed at times, with Tottenham players often just marginally late in shutting down the ball. It was enough to enable the Reds to play through and around Spurs’ defense.
You could name a laundry list of Spurs players who struggled today (Son and Bissouma two notable ones), but Radu Dragusin in particular had an absolute shocker. On two of Liverpool’s goals, he charged out of position and failed , leaving his teenage partner Gray to manage an untenable situation. Liverpool’s third just before halftime was especially egregious, as he challenged for a header he shouldn’t have, lost, and then somehow was completely unable to make it back to play any part in preventing Liverpool scoring. And that’s without even talking about his lack of ability on the ball. Is he a good fit for this side?
Fraser Forster struggled too. There were early warning signs as he passed the ball straight to Salah in his own box, before he stayed glued to his line when a cross was played into the six-yard box, forcing him to make a (very good, to his credit) reaction save. That inability to get off his line was instrumental in Mac Allister’s first-half goal, and he arguably could have done better on Diaz’s second. He’s had some good moments in the last several weeks, but he’s low on confidence right now.
Did the Premier League call up a Liverpool schoolboy to ref this game? It wouldn’t have moved the needle in terms of the result either way, but it felt at times like it was a Liverpool home match the way the game was called. One no-call on a foul by Szoboszlai as Son broke forward was especially egregious, with Szoboszlai in no-man’s land and the last man back. It probably wasn’t quite a Denial of Goal-Scoring Opportunity, but it was a shocker of a decision to not blow the whistle.
Djed Spence has been a real bright spot in the last few weeks. He was very good today against a tough opponent in Mo Salah.
Lucas Bergvall showed some good moments against a tough opponent as well, and while Dejan Kulusevski struggled a bit in the first half, he immediately had an impact once shifted central with his energy invaluable.
If I have to hear another commentator go on about Ange Postecoglou’s inverted fullback setup when they’re clearing playing wider and in more conservative positions, I swear I will break something.
Speaking of, Pedro Porro (who is clearly exhausted) was routinely in acres of space today, but nobody on this Spurs team had the passing capability to pick him out. Spurs need to learn how to quickly switch the play in matches like this.
Next up: Spurs continue the festive period with an away match at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day. COYS!