For the second season in a row, Liverpool have claimed maximum points away to Tottenham Hotspur.
After a prolonged and traumatic period, Liverpool shrugged off the heavy sack loads of fan anxiety and despair to record an excellent win in North London. They return to the capital for their next encounter against a much improved West Ham United on Sunday.
In contrast to the previous run of games which began with the dreadful draw against the Baggies of West Bromwich, tempo, pace and movement were all evident as the Champions took all three points in a 3-1 away victory.
A pattern of play in that awful run was the narrowness of the front three, the slow, side-to-side, and indeed backward balls from midfield, poor delivery, and when rare chances came, abject finishing.
Against Spurs, the front three pulled the pitch apart and held their lines which allowed for Jordan Henderson to loft a ball over the top for Sadio Mane to run onto. This resulted in Bobby Firmino’s opener.
A similar approach was used as Trent Alexander-Arnold threaded a cross-field ball from right to left which Mane rifled home for the third goal of the night. How Liverpool have missed Virgil van Dijk’s killer balls from the back which turn defense into attack within a matter of seconds – leaving defenders flat-footed.
Liverpool’s second goal was scored seconds after the re-start by a rejuvenated Alexander-Arnold who rediscovered his mojo after some forgetful recent outings. James Milner showcased how streetwise he was, Gini Wijnaldum was industrious and Thiago got better as the game grew.
His strength is in the attacking third, not conditioning his game to be a part of the mechanical midfield we have become accustomed to. He picked up another yellow card when he was required to defend. Thiago with Fabinho as two of the three in midfield is an enticing prospect – but unlikely to be seen this season.
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However, there were two sour points on the night. A “serious” injury – yet again to Joel Matip, whose fantastic defending to take the ball away from Son when he was seemingly through on goal, leaves the Reds short at center back once again.
This was on top of the injury which ruled Fabinho out of the contest. Liverpool have known about this weakness in defensive cover since the autumn but with hours to go until the transfer window closes, have still not acted.
The second spoiler was of course, VAR. It just had to be with Mohamed Salah’s goal ruled out. Martin Atkinson joined David Coote, Michael Oliver, Paul Tierney, Kevin Friend, Stuart Attwell, Mike Dean and the appropriately named Andre Marriner who was all at sea in the game against Southampton, as officials who have made very questionable calls against the Reds this season.
If Firmino had handled the ball, surely it should have been a free-kick to Liverpool because before ball hit hand, Eric Dier had his hands all over him. As with the injury to van Dijk, questions need to be asked about why officials are ignoring the entirety of what is going on.
Only days ago, authorities decided to alter offside decisions following an outcry in the Manchester City versus Aston Villa game. If this change can be made mid-season, then why not make some adjustments to VAR too?
Intensity and excitement which is the lifeblood of football has very much been removed as a result of VAR which officials are not equipped to administer effectively. Bendy lines, armpits, fingers, slow motion, incomplete clips and delayed celebrations are now the norm. Does anyone have a vaccine for VAR?
Riaz Ravat is a member of Liverpool FC’s Equality & Diversity Fan Forum. He writes in a personal capacity.