wasn’t enough.
A point at Anfield is usually a welcome point but with the gap to fourth now four points with three games to go, so even with the NLD midweek, it’s not in Spurs’ hands.
It could have been all three points, some badly missed chances while it took a wicked deflection for the scouse to gain the point. But I’m in agreement with with Klopp, I don’t like that sort of football.
You know the type, where one side is let away with persistent fouling, stopping nearly every breakaway with a cynical, professional, foul which goes unpunished by weak officials.
Of course that wasn’t what Klopp was moaning about. He was moaning because Spurs didn’t open up and rollover for his side. Of course he had to blame Spurs and Conte, got to blame someone while distracting attention away from his own players. Spurs putting in an almost perfect defensive display is apparently the reason his players kept over-hitting all those crosses.
Though it is the reason people didn’t know Salah, Mane and Diaz were actually playing.
He couldn’t blame the officials, one of Klopp’s standbys when he’s in full petulant strop mode. You know the real Klopp, not the fake smile with the fake teeth jovial Klopp that the media love, no the snarling one the media love to gloss over. As they should have been down to ten men, well before Fabinho finally got the yellow that should have been a red.
Spurs counter attacking set up worked, in both areas, attack and defence. Though more in the latter than the former, mainly due to Fabinho doing his best Fernandinho impersonation. Without those cynical fouls, who many more decent attacks could Spurs have mounted and with Kane, Son and Kulu, how many could have been successful?
The opener wasn’t from a counter, the ball was back with Hugo, but players from both sides were spread far and wide. No one farther and wider than Emerson on the Spurs’ left, near the halfway line. Taking it down, he humped the ball forward to the other side. Hanging it fell to Kane who cut inside. It looked like he was going for a left foot blast from outside the box, but slid it to Sessegnon instead. The youngster crosses it along the six yard box to the unmarked Son, to score his 20th league goal of the season.
In defence, it worked. There was the usual Spurs slip ups, but when they did occur there was someone there to cover and clear it up. Romero, Dier and Davies were blocking everything thrown at them and in the few occasions the ball got past them Hugo was Pat Jennings mode. Especially when keeping out headers from his own players, *cough* Sess *cough*.
The lead could have been double not long after but from Royal’s cross, Sess couldn’t lay it off for Son to have a real chance. It just hit him.
If anyone was going to score for them it was gong to be Diaz, after what happened in the January transfer window. It came from a foul throw, and then a massive deflection that gave Hugo no chance. It could have just as easily ended one being one of the brilliant blocks that Spurs put in during that game.
It could have been won by Hojbjerg. His long range shot in the first half just curled when hitting the turf to hit the post. But late on he had a free header just on the six yard line but he chose to lay it off to Kane rather than go for goal. It was there. Three points. He knew, you could see when he thumped his fist into his other hand and shook his head, that he knew he should have gone for goal.
So Fabinho… numerous fouls in the previous 80 minutes could have seen him carded and sent off but then he went through Son, as Spurs broke, in another cynical stop the counter challenge. This time, not content with just kicking the feet of a Spurs’ player he went in with the elbow to Son’s face…
I seè the Premier league have taken down Fabinho assault on Son down, so just in case you missed it. pic.twitter.com/UgV3L859tg
— Tel Dixie Dean 60 💙 (@ElTelTheToffee) May 8, 2022
The F.A. take the video down from Twitter, while the media either don’t mention it at all… BBC MotD… or gloss over it. While on field either VAR didn’t even bother to look at it or they thought it was just a yellow. Yeah, we all know if it was Romero on Salah that wouldn’t be the outcome. Either way it’s another example of the people in charge not being up to the job.
They’ll say the ref was trying to keep the game flowing and that reducing one team to 10 ruins the game. Well, the game doesn’t flow when one player is just clogging every break and it ruins the game. But you know… certain teams… certain players… just get away with it.