Tottenham fought back from a goal down to earn a point at Anfield, as Harry Kane’s goal cancelled out Philippe Coutinho’s opener in an evenly matched contest on Saturday. Both teams were guilty of missing opportunities in the first half, with Daniel Sturridge and Harry Kane going close for either side.
The game burst into life when Coutinho finished off a move between him and Daniel Sturridge to put the Reds in front. Spurs responded 12 minutes later when Kane held up a Christian Eriksen pass and turned expertly around Dejan Lovren, before firing past Simon Mignolet into the far corner.
Both teams went for the winner in the latter stages, but could not find that decisive goal to give themselves all three points.
Here’s a look at the five talking points that decided an open encounter:
A game littered with possession losses
The game was highly characterized by both sets of players giving away balls through misplaced passes or inability to control the ball at their feet. In one way, this was good entertainment for the fans, as a mistake from one side in their own defensive area unlocked the door for a potential goal-scoring opportunity for the opposition.
For the managerial pair of Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino, however, this will be a worrying sign. Their sides might have got away with such careless mistakes this time, but on any other day, they could well have received a thumping.
Maybe this was just rustiness from both sides after coming together from the international break.
Hugo Lloris’ heroics thwarts Liverpool in the first half
The first half saw Liverpool create the better openings against an uncharacteristically suspect Spurs defence. The Reds’ forwards would have been surprised to see them find so much space between Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer at the back.
The duo would have been extremely thankful that they have a world-class goalkeeper in the form of Hugo Lloris bailing them out. The Frenchman made a number of impressive saves in the first half, including spectacular ones to keeping Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana out.
The scoreline might have had a different look to it had it not been for Lloris.
Simon Mignolet nearly messes up – again!
Simon Mignolet’s uncertainty with the gloves has been a major talking point for Liverpool all season, and Saturday was yet another example which puts his credibility as first choice goalkeeper into serious doubt.
A missed header by Harry Kane and Mamadou Sakho from a lofted pass was apparently meandering straight towards the path of Simon Mignolet, who had assured Dejan Lovren in the proximity that the ball was his to deal with. Kane sensed that there would be some communication gap and promptly made a dash towards the ball.
His instincts were spot on, as Mignolet was found sauntering – rather than making an assured run – towards the ball he seemingly had under his control. His clearance ricocheted off Harry Kane. Luckily for the Belgian, the shot went off target and out of a goal-kick.
A massive reprieve for Mignolet and Liverpool.
Harry Kane is a man high on confidence
When a striker is in his prime form, he just needs half a yard of space to carve out a promising goal-scoring opportunity – and score off it. He showed great composure to shrug Dejan Lovren off while holding up the ball from a Christian Eriksen pass.
Then, having seen Lovren commit to that extra step forward in an attempt to dispossess Kane, he turned, found an opening at the far corner and smashed home.Smart, dexterous – call it whatever you want. That was the act of a man who cannot be stopped at the moment.
That goal took him to 22 league goals for the season, more than any other Spurs’ player in any season in their history.
Have Spurs fluffed their title hopes?
One point gained or two dropped? Tottenham will feel the latter. The result sees them four points adrift of Leicester City, who host Southampton today. A victory over the Saints will see Leicester widen that gap to 7 points with 6 game weeks to go.
Spurs will rue the chances they missed through the course of the game – Harry Kane shooting wide when he had space in the box and Dele Alli failing to get his first touch right when through on goal were a couple of instances of close shaves for Pochettino’s side.
All they can do is sit in front of their TV screens and hope that the Foxes stumble like them against Ronald Koeman’s side.
