Tottenham Hotspur 0-3 Liverpool: Five Talking Points

For the second consecutive season, Liverpool have inflicted Pain at the Lane. Following last season’s facile 5-0 win, which was inspired by Luis Suarez, Liverpool kick-started their 2014-15 campaign - after a blip in the form of a 3-1 reverse at champions Manchester City.Raheem Sterling, Steven Gerrard and Alberto Moreno were on the score sheet as Liverpool disposed off a rather insipid Tottenham. For Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, this win would have brought an added satisfaction, as it was his 100th game in charge of the Reds – a period in which the Merseysiders have won 56 games.

#1 Mario Balotelli returns to the Premier League

Mario Balotelli spurns one of his chances

The bad boy is back. Super Mario, as he was known by the CIty faithful then, is now back in Liverpool red. And on his return to the Premier League after 20 months, he looked sharp and ready.

While Brendan Rodgers did say that Balotelli was not 100% fit just yet, it must have been reassuring for the Liverpool gaffer to see Balotelli getting into the right positions. His finishing though, left a lot to be desired, as he missed at least three gilt-edged opportunities within the first 35 minutes.

Most surprising was Balotelli’s desire to win the ball back, as he kept hounding the Tottenham players. This augurs well for Brendan Rodgers’s plans.

“He was excellent,” Rodgers said.

“I thought the two boys up front and Raheem in behind were a constant threat.

“He's (Balotelli) a good guy, he's worked well this week and I think everyone could see the team effort as he was pressing as much as he could. He was very good.”

#2 Raheem Sterling will not stop!

Raheem Sterling celebrates scoring the opening goal

19-year-old pocket dynamite. That is exactly what Raheem Sterling is.

After two games against Manchester City and Southampton, where he was the standout performer, Sterling again put in a top-drawer performance. Playing at the tip of the diamond, Sterling had the freedom to drift wide, and support Balotelli and Sturridge from out wide.

He did score a goal with an expert finish, but possibly the highlight of Sterling’s game came in the second half, when he blitzed past three or four Tottenham defenders with slick control inside the penalty area, but it was a shame that the finish did not match the run.

Rodgers was happy with Sterling’s performance and said, “I think he's flexible and we've tried to develop him to not just be a wide player but to also be able to play on the inside - and I thought he was excellent.

“From the inside, he can turn and he can press. Then, when we went to 4-3-3 he's got that pace to go on the outside. It's important for me that they have that intelligence to play in different positions and he can.”

#3 Hugo Lloris\'s horrendous kicking

Hugo Lloris’s poor kick gifts an opportunity to Mario Balotelli

Some three or four times within the space of five first half minutes, Hugo Lloris was found wanting under Liverpool’s pressure, and his kicks constantly kept finding Liverpool players in dangerous positions.

Mario Balotelli would have taken the chance that Lloris presented to him nine times out of ten. Luckily for the French Captain, his errors didn’t lead to further embarrassment for Spurs.

#4 Steven Gerrard is still Liverpool\'s penalty taker

16 consecutive seasons now, that Steven Gerrard has been a Premier League goalscorer.

With the introduction of Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert into the Liverpool side over the summer, and their impeccable penalty records, Gerrard might have had reason to worry. But no, he is still the man.

And he showed why he is. A Liverpool goal at that stage would have deflated Spurs thoroughly, and a miss would have had an equally positive impact on the Londoners.

But that is where Gerrard is brilliant when it comes to taking penalties. He picks his spot, and more often than not, puts the ball on that spot, as he did against Lloris giving the Frenchman no chance at all.

#5 Rodgers 1-0 Pochettino

Brendan Rodgers and Mauricio Pochettino marshall their troops

After the embarrassment at the Etihad Stadium last Monday, Brendan Rodgers had to turn things around.

He went back to his favoured system to accomodate two strikers – the midfield diamond – and it worked perfectly for Liverpool. The diamond meant both full backs in Javier Manquillo and Alberto Moreno had to be on top of their game; and they were, especially the latter, who even capped his performance with a fine goal.

Pochettino’s Spurs meanwhile, struggled. Liverpool pressed as a unit, and didn’t allow Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen any time on the ball.

But these two are possibly the two finest young managers in the league, although yesterday’s match showed differently.