Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool Match Report

The irrepressible Red tide goes on and on.

Liverpool edge off Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium 1-0 to continue their unbeaten run in the Premier League, courtesy of a goal from Roberto Firmino.

"It is Liverpool's football!" said Peter Drury, the renowned commentator, and he could not have been more right as Liverpool blew away a struggling Tottenham Hotspur side 1-0, with a goal from Roberto Firmino.

Tottenham, out of their last 14 games against Liverpool, had won only one game which was a 4-1 win at Wembley in 2017.

Liverpool were undefeated in their last 8 Premier League games in London, winning their last 3 in a row. They hadn't won 4 consecutive games in the capital city since October 1989, until now.

Liverpool boast the best attack and defence in the Premier League, not having failed to score in their last 29 games. As for Tottenham, only Norwich City had kept as few Premier League cleansheets as them (2) prior to the start of the game.

After winning the first four games under Jose Mourinho, albeit against mediocre opposition, it looked bright for Spurs. But, things did not work out as expected and they were faced with the conundrum of trying what no other team in the league had managed, to defeat the colossal team that is Liverpool F.C.

Tottenham were without many key-players like Harry Kane, Sissoko, Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies and Tanguy Ndombele. The limited number of options up front persuaded Mourinho to make it clear that neither Lucas nor Son are strikers, but he will have to play with one or both of them up front.

Leicester City's defeat to Southampton earlier that day meant that Liverpool could go 16 points clear at the top with a win.

Early in the game, Tottenham debutant, Japhet Tanganga made a crucial block in front of goal and denied Liverpool an early goal.

 Before the half-hour mark, Jordan Henderson put in a dinked ball into the box towards three unmarked Liverpool players. Virgil Van Dijk jumped high to make contact with the ball but it wasn't a good enough contact as Paulo Gazzaniga pulled out a fine save to deny Van Dijk.

Tottenham's midfielders and defenders were sitting deep, deploying the park-the-bus tactic, which Mourinho has become so famous for using, and tried through balls and long balls to the forwards. But, Van Dijk and his counterparts stood their ground and made sure that their goalkeeper was not troubled.

In the thirty-seventh minute of the game, Tottenham got caught on a throw-in, and Mo Salah slipped a ball through to Roberto Firmino, who took a touch leaving Tanganga for the dead and put the ball into the net making it 1-0 to the Kop.

Liverpool continued to pressurize the Spurs defence throughout the second-half, attacking them from left, right and centre. Sadio Mané's second wind in the last half-hour of the game terrorized Tottenham's right side of defence as he ran through the tired and helpless Eriksen and Aurier, putting dangerous crosses into the box.

Mourinho brought on Lamela and Lo Celso, the two Argentines, looking to nick a goal and earn a draw out of this disappointing game. But, it wasn't meant to be as Liverpool held on firmly in defence and denying the Spurs forwards any chance of scoring a goal.

Roberto Firmino scored in the 37th minute of the game to give Liverpool the lead.

Liverpool earned their 20th victory of the 2019-20 season (and 12th in a row), after defeating the North-London outfit. This game was Liverpool's ninth victory with a one-goal margin this season. They dominated possession away from home and came out victorious.

The Merseysider's Gegenpress, which has worked so brilliantly throughout Klopp's career, was on show today again as Liverpool contained a defensive yet dangerous Spurs side.

This victory takes Liverpool 16 points clear at the summit of the Premier League table, with 17 games to go. They face Manchester United next in the league before a trip to the Molineux against Wolves.

As for Tottenham, this loss means they continue to linger in the 8th position in the league table, more close to the drop zone than they are to the top 4 in terms of points. They face Middlesbrough next in a FA Cup Round 3 replay after the previous match ended in a stalemate.