One Side of Liverpool's Story at Anfield

Liverpool needs a "sacrifice" at home. They have lost twice in a row at Anfield. Not to mention that in the last match versus West Ham United, Klopp had an argument with striker Mohamed Salah. They need a win to reduce the crisis ahead of Klopp's final match.

Also read: Extinguishing the Liverpool and Tottenham "Fire" at Anfield

”There is more motivation for us to go out and fix everything that has happened. We realized we weren't good enough in recent weeks and wanted to change that. "The match was similar to basketball, it was all about which team scored more goals," said Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott who contributed one goal and one assist.

Coincidentally, the guests who came were the Spurs. They are currently experiencing problems in the defensive sector after conceding nine goals in the last three matches. Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou never hesitates to display a high defensive line, including last night. Liverpool, who is skilled in direct attacks, took advantage of that.

The Spurs' defensive wings became soft food for the hosts. Especially their left side, the area Salah and Elliott operate. Many times, Spurs wing-back Emerson Royal was overwhelmed by long passes that broke the offside trap. It only took 16 minutes for Salah to open the scoring.

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Mo is amazing. He played very well. His side (on the right) with Harvey was so good. I am satisfied with its appearance.

Other goals seem to be waiting for their time. During the first hour, Liverpool dominated the game absolutely. The match went in one direction. It can be seen from the number of shots taken, "The Reds" far outperformed with a score of 18-3. As many as 11 shots hit the target accurately. They also added goals through Andy Robertson, Cody Gakpo, and Elliott.

Also read: Klopp and Salah's debate, the peak of Liverpool's frustration

Postecoglou's confidence is reflected in the statistics in the backline. According to Markstats, the average distance of the "White Lily" defense line is much higher than Liverpool's, at 46.6-38.6 meters. The manager simply made a mistake in choosing the place, time, and opponent to implement such a bold strategy.

According to Postecoglou, the biggest problem lies in the execution of the players. "We pay the price accordingly because of making various mistakes (in defense). It shouldn't have happened at this level. Our defense performance was better than the previous match (versus Chelsea). However, there was also an influence from Liverpool which was dangerous at home," he said.

Spurs performed better in the last 20 minutes, when Liverpool began to slow down with player substitutions. Meanwhile, they brought in offensive-type players, such as striker Richarlison and attacking midfielder James Maddison. The away team played more pragmatically by relying on long passes.

The results are quite effective. Richarlison was able to break Liverpool's offside trap many times. Thanks to this change, Spurs were able to score two consolation goals. Richarlison contributed one goal and one assist. Another goal was scored by striker Son Heung-min who played below standard.

Also read: Wasted opportunities, Liverpool's chance of winning is wasted

The recent half-hour fact also showed another mistake made by Postecoglou. Spurs made another change in the midfield. They switched their usual 4-2-3-1 formation to 4-3-3. Three midfielders played parallel, namely Yves Bissouma, Pape Sarr, and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Using this pattern, Spurs hope to create stability in midfield while launching attacks from the back. However, as legendary boxer Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. The plan failed completely as Liverpool allowed the opposing team to dominate possession.

Klopp said that Spurs were free to hold the ball as long as they couldn't threaten the defensive line. As a result, the away team's ball possession advantage of 55.3 percent was not too significant, especially in the first half. Spurs returned to playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation when Richarlison entered the game.

"I think the most important thing today is the three points. The children also think so. Anfield is very special today. We were leading 4-0, then I made a substitution. Our organization was disrupted since then. The key is, if we don't let them develop, we can hurt them," said Klopp.

Spurs are sinking deeper into crisis after that result. They have suffered four consecutive defeats in the league. Son and his colleagues' defense has increasingly come under scrutiny after only recording two clean sheets in their last 26 matches. Their chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season are getting slimmer.

Spurs failed to take advantage of the opportunity to narrow the gap with fourth-placed Aston Villa, who lost to Brighton and Hove Albion this week. Villa is still comfortable with 67 points from 36 matches, followed by Spurs who have only collected 60 points from 35 matches. Villa only needs one win to secure fourth place. (AP/REUTERS)