Jürgen Klopp leaned back in his chair, threw a glance to the skies, and wore the expression of a man who had just been told the last bus home had been cancelled. “Oh my God,” he said, exhaling deeply. The information he was trying to take in actually concerned one of the decisive moments of Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham. It was a moment that might have turned one point into an excellent three.
With one of their crisp breaks Georginio Wijnaldum slipped the ball to Adam Lallana, who pushed the move onwards and the ball across goal for Sadio Mané to tap in. Up went the official’s flag and the strike was disallowed for a very tight offside. “What can I say?” Klopp said. “It was a wonderful goal, huh? Brilliant play. It happens.”
He sounded phlegmatic but looked slightly crestfallen. Despite the positives he can take from a complicated early season cluster of games all away from home, he made no bones about his disappointment that there were no more points on the board to show for it. “We have not the most easy starting programme. Four points from nine is not what I wanted but it’s OK. That’s our platform.”
Tottenham’s platform shows five points from nine but in terms of the team’s energy levels and attacking zest there has to be more to come from Mauricio Pochettino’s team. For much of this tussle they toiled, they endeavoured, but clear chances did not come easily. The attacking prowess of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and the newcomer Vincent Janssen is yet to really catch fire this season. Pochettino didn’t seem to mind too much if it’s been a slow burner up until this point. “Last season Harry scored in game 10 and was top scorer. I would sign up again for that,” he smiled.
Liverpool had more than enough chances to win, quite apart from the mysterious offside call. From the start the thrust of Mané and trickery of Philippe Coutinho tested Tottenham. They set about the challenge here with swift movement and energy.
With half-time approaching, Liverpool were handed a clear opportunity to turn their attacking promise into something concrete with a penalty. The referee Bobby Madley saw Érik Lamela catch Roberto Firmino at the edge of the box and pointed to the spot. It was down to James Milner, who had been filling in unfussily at left-back, to make the difference. He slammed his shot past Michel Vorm.
Tottenham needed a response, a shot of energy, of inspiration after the break. But it was Liverpool who restarted with more intent: Wijnaldum scooped over; the impressive Joël Matip skimmed a header off the top of the crossbar.
Pochettino’s frustration was growing but he later credited his team’s resolve for summoning enough pressure to equalise. Danny Rose escaped the general congestion and was allowed plenty of space to pick his spot when Eric Dier’s cross was knocked towards him. Rose beat Simon Mignolet at the near post, releasing a wave of pent-up Tottenham angst. “ I am very pleased with the reaction, the effort and character we showed because it wasn’t easy,” assessed Pochettino, who had to rebalance his team when Kyle Walker felt sick. Dier switched effortlessly to right-back, and the attack was rearranged.
They could have even won it with Toby Alderweireld’s powerful header, which inspired the agile, twisting, save of the day from Mignolet.
The fact it was only one vital stop meant something to Klopp in measuring his team’s progress, as the keeper had been incredibly busy in the same fixture last year. “Simon saved our life last time. Today he had one brilliant save,” Klopp said. Liverpool had late chances to clinch it themselves but it was not to be and the manager preached the possibilities he can see in his team, even if there is more polish to come. “This game showed again what we can do. We were really flexible and offensive and played football, had wonderful moments with passing and direction. I wish we would have won it but we have to accept the point and it’s OK. That’s what we have to show in each game.”
Pochettino bade farewell to a large chunk of his players on international duty thankful to have avoided a nasty slip. He feels he is “months” away from having his squad where he wants it to be in order to truly compete. He is not the only manager who has lamented the difficulty in finding a sharp groove after a truncated, post-European Championship pre-season.
“This is not a perfect break,” Pochettino says. “All the players involved [in the Euros] go again to the national team. It is difficult because some players are going, some will play, others no. We need maybe a few months to get all in the same level. It’s crazy.”
No doubt there is more to come from both Tottenham and Liverpool.
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