A FOOTBALL match, a tale of two teams, profoundly decided by one half.
This isn’t to say the second half isn’t important. This isn’t to undo those efforts. Those necessary efforts. This isn’t to act like all that running round was irrelevant. It wasn’t. It is a game of two halves, Saint.
But, today it wasn’t. Today it was a game of one half. One half that belonged emphatically to one team. That team wore red. That team was Liverpool. That team inexorably demonstrated dominance. The sort of dominance missing from so many of these top six battles this season. We’ve seen these games go back and forth. Be utterly draining experiences. Football that self destructs, that kills those who play it.
Not tonight.
Tonight two teams turned up at Anfield. And one was far better than the other one. It would be far too simplistic to just say that. It would also be true. It is a thing that happens. Two teams face up. One is better than the other — let that team always wear red.
Tonight it did. By a million miles it did. Liverpool’s first half should be recorded as an exemplar of everything this football team needs to do week in and week out. There isn’t a player among them off the back of that first 45 minutes who doesn’t deserve enormous credit. Every single player, including the goalkeeper, deserves credit and deserved to go in with more than two goals in their plus column.
It’s hard to specify individuals but Gini Wijnaldum was terrific. Shifted the ball along, won battles and joined everywhere. There is this thing about that position. Easy for everyone to feel like there is not enough in either direction playing that role whereas tonight he managed to be offering enough in both areas.
Sadio Mane gets his brace and it is deserved. We saw everything that he does well along with the work Liverpool need him to do. He absolutely terrified Tottenham across the pitch. He pulled them out of shape, made them need to look after their left-back. Made them worry. And what a brace. I love a good brace and this is quite the brace.
At the back, Lucas Leiva who has been understandably maligned at times this season turned this into the sort of game where he could flourish. He did so much of his business on the front foot; winning the ball in unexpected areas and putting Liverpool on the attack. Harry Kane had no meaningful involvement until the second half and then his involvement at times felt like that of a lad looking for revenge, looking for a way to make a point. Him and the penalty area were just not very well acquainted. Touches were left pointless. Liverpool resplendent. Lucas and Joel Matip in charge.
In fact, Liverpool today decided to assault all of Spurs’s strengths, not just Kane. Any area of the pitch Spurs felt they were good at first 45, Liverpool decided to pick at. First half the weaknesses of both Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele were emphasised. Liverpool held a mirror up to their faults. Drew diagrams on that mirror. Took the piss out of that mirror. Confiscated the mirror.
The second half then. Spurs had taken a team talk and a half and quite the bollocking. So they came out to kick Liverpool. They’d been bullied, legally bullied and the response was to illegally semi-bully Liverpool. Kick them like lads who didn’t want to face a manager at half-time telling them they had been second best again.
The second half Liverpool took so much time out of the way. They didn’t let Spurs have a single thing cheaply. Not one little thing. They didn’t leave the space for Spurs to exploit while still offering a threat. Liverpool were never on the back foot while being mildly defensive.
These Reds today were brave on and off the ball. Brave a million times. Brave and brave. All Spurs had was walloping people. Nothing to Kane. Nothing to Son Heung-Min. Just hitting the Reds. Retribution was all they had because they couldn’t get on top.
But the brave Reds deserve all the credit. All the love and affection. They got walloped for you and me. They walloped Spurs for you and me. They were sharp for you and me. Pinging it into one another for us. Touch, turn. Bang.
The Reds then. Let this be the turn you gorgeous bastards. It turns here and now. Beat the next lads. And the lads after. This, this is how good you are, how good we are.
Let’s go, Reds.
Up the sharp Reds.
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Brace. Where’s Robbo?
Nice one Neil.
Finally!! Thank Christ!!!
Gini was outstanding tonight. What a pass that was, what a pass. He was everywhere as were Henderson, Lallana and Bobby the grafter. Fantastic team performance. Up the Reds.
Great win…vital win… but didn’t Spurs let us do that to them? Have they not watched us in January?
We can do this against teams with this approach but the without the space behind the back four we struggle. Unlocking those defences remains the challenge…
Chelski and the Mancs were more cautious and went away with their point, Spurs must be kicking themselves.
That said, I’m surprising myself with the relief and the release of a deserved, comfortable, celebrated, reassuring, reaffirming victory.
C’mon C’mon you mighty Reds! We go again, 39 points up for grabs.
It sounds so obvious but I love it when we’re comfortably winning (Spurs barely had a sniff). It means i can appreciate little things in our play a bit more without having mini seizures every five minutes. Little things like the touch of Coutinho and, even more so, Lallana. It’s absolutely gorgeous isn’t it?
We were awesome today.
Not been to Anfield during January (oh what timing!), but this was the first game I’ve been to in years where the stewards didn’t make us sit down in the Kop End.
I think it helped the atmosphere today, was it deliberate to get the crowd buzzed up again?
It worked!
Ooh, bit of ‘The Passenger’ there at the end Neil, it’s that kind of day. We’ve won and won well, all is right and correct with the world, and all the stars are out in the sky tonight…. Great stuff!! :)
Don’t know when the earliest “show them the way to go home” has ever been sung, but I could have been sung at half time. What a first half. Exactly what was called for, and what Liverpool hadn’t done in some time. Come out of the blocks blowing people’s doors off. I love it. Long may it continue.
Bet Robbo didn’t mind that brace one bit,
A badly needed win, results earlier in the day cranked up the pressure.
Yeah, can feel that, Neil.
…though, to be fair I think that the midfield dominance in the first half was mostly brilliant tactics.
Wanyama and Dembele are the heart and engine of Spurs (those lads can play) and the Reds just bypassed them most of the time. No mirror required. Just over and around and no time on outlets from the back. Gini was a perfect anchor from the start to the final whistle. Composed, connected, omniscient. What a fine day. I have not felt so well since before the Christmas times. Win the rest, win the league. I’m still believing.
Nice one Neil, lovely stuff.
Is that the first time we’ve played THE front 6 since November?
Tonight Klopp said [Quote]: “I know when we struggle and I know the reasons – it’s about rhythm, it’s about shape. If it’s not about attitude, which I’m sure about, it’s rhythm and shape and a little bit of luck. So, being injured in the wrong moment is really difficult to deal with. We had a few of these things. Of course we missed Sadio in January – each team in the world would have missed him. So that’s all part of the truth … [END QUOTE]
Lallana came back injured from the international break, and Coutinho and Firmino were very tired and then Phil got injured and Matip etc. IF we can keep the 6 of them fit we’ll be fine :)
Scary when you see that.
That was Spurs and that’s what happened to them when we played our game properly.
Scary- innit?
First team we have played in weeks who didnt play with two lines in their own penalty area. Spurs came and had a go. They went toe to toe and in doing so proved their manager hadnt watched how every other shit team manged to beat us by packing the defence and hitting us on the break. The space we had tonight was unvelievabke. I dont think leicester will set up like spurs it will be back to packed defence and hitting us on the break.
If we had a keeper like Lloris…
He’d be fucked playing without their two central defenders who don’t generally let any fucker near him, same with the plastics and Tibo Doodah.
Loris would be an awesome addition
As the sun sets on another fine performance and the sobering light of the next day (some with more of a hangover than others, gibbo). You look at what we learnt from that game and what makes the difference in this machine churning out results or flaturing to fail.
What I saw was the evidence that henderson/can midfield shouldn’t have been selected as often as it has. Too often it seemed can was selected because he was tall and klopp was worried about the opposition instead of letting them worry about us. Gini seems to have everything about his game that you didnt expect when when signed him. The wrap lads have said it’s about mini partnerships and gini and Hendo works, while can henderson doesn’t.
More men in the box. Did you see it, the 2nd goal was what we had early on in the season. More please..we look so much better putting pressure on the opposition and create better chances.
Hunting in packs was back, no more single challenges. We won the ball back earlier and had challenges coming from all angels. Spurs didn’t know how to handle it.
While we have missed mane I think it’s been us losing those parts of our identity that have affected our performance. Now not having the right players might not allow us to play that way. But with the lessons learnt from this game and those players back, im confident of 2nd/3rd place this season as we put those blips behind us.
Great stuff Neil, thanks!
That first half was frankly bullying. Spurs were scared and didn’t want the ball to feet. I haven’t seen this happen to a side for a very long while. Hendo, Lallana and Gini destroyed their midfield, Mane, Coutinho and Firmino savaged their backline and Lucas and Matip dominated Alli and Kane. What a brilliant game of football!
Another gem of a review Neil. Thankfully this was a song and a smile.
In fact, Liverpool today decided to assault all of Spurs’s strengths, not just Kane. Any area of the pitch Spurs felt they were good at first 45, Liverpool decided to pick at. First half the weaknesses of both Wanyama and Dembele were emphasised. Liverpool held a mirror up to their faults. Drew diagrams on that mirror. Took the piss out of that mirror. Confiscated the mirror.
Lovely stuff