Liverpool won a high-scoring game against Tottenham as Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League farewell comes to an end.
Goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and a fine goal from Harvey Elliott gave the Reds a 4-0 lead that their functionality had more than justified.
Spurs took a big step forward after a series of substitutions and scored through Richarlison and Son Heung-min but, in truth, it was necessarily another disappointing performance from Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Mark Carey, Ahmed Walid and Jack Pitt-Brooke talk about the key takeaways. . .
The narratives are never far from Salah and, for the vast majority of his time on Merseyside, they have been full of positives.
In recent weeks, some negative comments have been added to the collection, with functionalities that many have questioned. Was it a sign of its inevitable decline or just an incident?According to its functionality on Sunday afternoon, it’s like the last resort.
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There was an extra leap in step when he won the ball, making penetrating runs from behind to offer himself to his midfield teammates. A shot to the far post in the first half was rewarded for his rejuvenated display.
In truth, it was difficult to determine whether Liverpool’s strength on the right flank was due to Salah’s power or Spurs’ defensive weakness. Emerson Royal handled the ball well by investing from left-back, but the Brazilian is not good in that aspect and looked lost. , out of possession.
Salah was constantly slipping out of Royal’s field of vision, and Liverpool were obviously looking to overload that aspect of the pitch to cross or shoot.
Alexis Mac Allister deflected to help ramp up the charge numbers, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross eventually found its way to Robertson to exploit it, and Elliott’s cross for Gakpo’s goal came from a top rebound down the right flank after Royal failed to clear his lines.
Elliott then scored Liverpool’s fourth goal, cutting inside and past Rodrigo Bentancur before doubling a fine left-footed shot into the most sensitive corner.
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It was an unforgettable afternoon for the Spurs full-back, who replaced Oliver Skipp in the 61st minute. Her poor functionality and Liverpool’s dominance in that part of the pitch showed how much Spurs have missed the injured Destiny Udogie in the last 3 games.
Marc Carey
Much will be said about Spurs’ defensive functionality today, however, football is not divided into compartmentalised sets, and the disruptions they faced in the first hour at Anfield were not just due to the four defenders.
It’s another game where the offense decided through Postecoglou may simply have no impact. It took the arrival of Richarlison and James Maddison from the bench on the hour mark for Spurs to launch the counterattack that at least made the score respectable.
The Spurs have a challenge from the start. This season, Son has played down the left to welcome Richarlison in midfield. But today, Son is up front and Richarilson is on the bench. The challenge is that Son, who started the season brilliantly, fainted. And as he runs devastatingly through space, he can’t hold the ball.
It hurts the entire Spurs team because they can never let go of the pressure. The team is more balanced with Richarlison up front and Son on the left; You think about the consistency of the first one in front of goal.
This also means that if Brennan Johnson plays, he wants to be on the right so he can get to the signature and throw balls into the box. This means that if Dejan Kulusevski plays, he will have to be in midfield, not outside.
The Spurs will want answers to those questions — answers that may only be available on the move market — if they want to do so next season.
Jack Pitt Brooke
Considering that most teams around the world need their elite No. 6 to own or not, Liverpool’s acquisition of Wataru Endo this summer seemed like a success, especially as he replaced Fabinho, even though the Brazilian was out of form.
However, as the season progressed, Endo’s performance was crucial for this Liverpool team. Japan’s midfield is rarely the best: they don’t look very comfortable on the ball and are susceptible to pressure from the opposition, but they are better suited to how Jurgen Klopp’s team should play.
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Endo is Liverpool’s £16m deal that has left Caicedo in the shadows
This season, Liverpool have been more direct and transitional in their taste than in past seasons, returning to their past nature in Klopp’s early years at the club, and that has helped Endo. The qualities of the midfielder without the ball, in terms of pressing, counter-attacking – pressing and fighting for decisive moments – flourishes in those tricky dueling games.
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It helps that Liverpool haven’t let him stagnate when they need to expand and move the ball into the thirds. Normally, Mac Allister will fall alongside Endo in the preparation phase or Alexander-Arnold will be put in a tight position. Sometimes, Endo would pass between the centre-backs, and the two players in front of him had more responsibility for moving the ball around the pitch.
Ahmed Walid
We’ll tell you all about it after his speech at the post-match press conference.
We’ll tell you all about it after his speech at the post-match press conference.
Monday, May 13: Aston Villa (A), Premier League, 8pmBST, 3 p. m. ET
Jurgen Klopp comfortably beat Aston Villa 3-0 at Anfield the last time those two met in early September, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Salah scoring from an own goal from Matty Cash.
Liverpool have lost just two of their last 22 visits to Villa Park in the Premier League. However, their last defeat, in October 2020, was a 7-2 thrashing. Since then, however, Liverpool have won the next two matches with a score of 2-1 and 3-1 respectively.
Saturday in May: Burnley (H), Premier League, 3pmBST, 10 a. m. ET
After a dramatic derby in north London followed by trips to Stamford Bridge and Anfield, Spurs could finally feel they can breathe easier with an upcoming home game against Burnley.
History would agree. As well as beating Vincent Kompany’s Burnley 5-2 away from home in the league in September and 1-0 at home in the FA Cup in January, Spurs have never lost at home to Burnley in the Premier League. They have won seven of those 8 matches (drawn) with an aggregate score of 19-2.