Harry Kane is tired, people are saying. Spurs are tired, people are saying. Liverpool, though, are not tired. Liverpool are playing like a team that wants to make up for lost time. Liverpool are playing like a team that has not won the league for 28 years and desperately, desperately does not want it to become 29.
Last season at Wembley, Spurs overwhelmed them. This time, Liverpool overwhelmed Spurs. They overwhelmed them with their class and with their conviction and with their energy. The 2-1 scoreline may not sound as if it were comfortable but that does not tell the story of the game.
The murmurs of dismay that spread through the ranks of the home crowd whenever Liverpool broke with the kind of speed and intent that spreads terror among opposing defences was testimony to the fact that Jurgen Klopp’s side were in a different class.
Substitute Erik Lamela pulled a late goal back for Tottenham with a powerful volley, but Liverpool held on for a 2-1 victory
Liverpool quickly built upon their lead early in the second half, as Sadio Mane picked out Roberto Firmino for 2-0
The Brazilian smashed the ball home from close range after it hit the post and scrambled through the Spurs defence
Mohamed Salah jumped on his attacking team-mate as the pair headed off to celebrate with the travelling Liverpool fans
The away end burst into scenes of jubilation as Liverpool doubled their lead to go two goals ahead at Wembley
They have five wins from their first five games now and this victory more than any of the rest was a sign that they are the real deal. That is not to say that they will win the title this season but it looks likely that theirs is a challenge that will test any team that aspires to finish above them to the very limit.
They have set this pace even without their talisman of last season, Mo Salah, playing at his peak yet. Salah was still searching for his best form here but Liverpool had too many weapons for Spurs to cope with. Sadio Mane stepped up again, James Milner was superb in midfield and until the dying moments, Liverpool were rock solid at the back.
Those who have revelled in their title drought must be starting to get a little worried. Manchester City will take some beating, sure, and Chelsea are looking impressive, too, but every game Liverpool has played this season has been a statement of intent. This time, they don’t look like a team who will fade away.
PLAYER RATINGS, LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE
TOTTENHAM (4-3-3): Vorm 4; Trippier 5.5, Alderweireld 6, Vertonghen 5.5, Rose 6.5; Dier 5.5 (Wanyama 83), Dembele 5 (Lamela 60, 7), Winks 6 (Son 73, 6); Moura 6.5, Eriksen 5.5; Kane 5.5
SUBS NOT USED: Sanchez, Gazzaniga, Aurier, Davies
GOAL: Lamela 90+3
MANAGER: Mauricio Pochettino 6
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 6.5; Alexander-Arnold 6.5 (Matip 90), Gomez 7.5, Van Dijk 8, Robertson 7; Wijnaldum 7, Milner 7, Keita 7 (Sturridge 83); Salah 6.5, Firmino 7.5 (Henderson 74, 6), Mane 7
SUBS NOT USED: Mignolet, Fabinho, Moreno, Shaqiri
GOALS: Wijnaldum 38, Firmino 53
MANAGER: Jurgen Klopp 8
REFEREE: Michael Oliver 7
MAN OF THE MATCH:
ATTENDANCE: 80,188
Player ratings by ADAM CRAFTON
Georiginio Wijnaldum got Liverpool off the mark with a looping header. CLICK HERE for more from Sportsmail's Match Zone.
Season at a glance
- Premier League
- Premier League
- Championship
- League One
- League Two
- Scottish Premiership
- Scottish Div 1
- Scottish Div 2
- Scottish Div 3
- Ligue 1
- Serie A
- La Liga
- Bundesliga
Without the injured Dele Alli, Spurs seemed to lack conviction going forward. Without the injured, repentant Hugo Lloris, they seemed to lack their usual certainty at the back, too. Eric Dier looked uneasy and out of sorts on the right side of a midfield three and Liverpool seized the initiative from the start.
They thought they had scored in the first minute when Firmino got the faintest of touches to a Milner cross and it eluded Vorm but Mane had tried to prod it in, too, from an offside position and even though he didn’t touch it, the officials ruled the attempt out because of his involvement.
Earlier, Georginio Wijnaldum leapt high to head the ball back in from a clearance and put Liverpool ahead just before half-time
The Tottenham defence attempted to jump in unison to deny Wijnaldum's looping header the chance to reach the goal
But the effort evaded all and goalkeeper Michel Vorm was unable to prevent it crossing the line for 1-0
Goal-line technology was used to confirm the whole ball had crossed the line and Liverpool had broke the deadlock
Liverpool hands immediately shot up to appeal to the officials that the ball had clearly crossed the line for a goal
The Dutchman was mobbed by his team-mates after giving Liverpool an all-important lead just before half-time
Relief spread across the faces of the Liverpool players as they took the advantage heading into the half-time break
It should have served as an immediate warning to Spurs but they did not react. Liverpool pressed them furiously and Mauricio Pochettino’s side seemed unable to respond. At their best, they might have been a match for Liverpool but they were nowhere near to their best and if Liverpool had been more clinical, the game would have been over by half time.
Spurs were too careless too often. Dier gave the ball away to Salah deep in his own half and Salah ran in on goal only to hit his shot too close to Vorm, who parried it and then gathered it. It was tempting to think that last season Salah, who has not yet hit top form, would have buried an opportunity like that.
Spurs needed a fine saving tackle from Alderweireld to deny Firmino after a probing run by Salah, and when Dembele gave the ball away in midfield, another quicksilver Liverpool break ended with Mane miscuing a weak shot that Vorm was able to stoop to gather.
Six minutes before half time, Liverpool finally scored the goal that their conviction and their brio deserved. It was a surprise, perhaps, that it came from a set piece but when Milner curled a corner in from the Liverpool left, Spurs’ normally excellent defending deserted them.
Vorm tried to punch the corner clear but he was distracted by the presence of Van Dijk in front of him and failed to make proper contact. The ball popped up to the back post where Dier headed it away. His clearance lacked power but Wijnaldum’s rejoinder did not.
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker roared in appreciation along with the travelling Liverpool fans as his side took the lead
Liverpool had the ball in the back of the net within two minutes of the tie, only for their effort to be ruled offside by the officials
Roberto Firmino got the final touch on a glancing cross, but the position of Sadio Mane meant the goal was chalked off
Jurgen Klopp quickly took up his post at pitchside and began barking commands to his players at Wembley
Ten yards out, Wijnaldum rose and headed the ball in a firm arc over Trippier who had retreated to the line to try to cover Vorm’s uncertainties. Vorm flung himself at the ball as it cleared Trippier and pushed it out with both hands but referee Michael Oliver signalled immediately that goal line technology had ruled Wijnaldum’s header would stand.
It was Wijnaldum’s first away goal in the Premier League and he sniffed a second a minute or so later when he found himself in space on the edge of the Spurs six yard box. Mane and Firmino lurked in the middle but Wijnaldum was drunk on the glory of goals and shot himself. He dragged his effort across goal and it rolled tamely over the byline.
Liverpool started brightly in the second half too and a cross-cum-shot from Robertson glanced off the face of the crossbar two minutes after the interval. A minute later, Salah fed the ball to Mane 10 yards out and when he turned sharply and lashed the ball goalwards, Spurs were fortunate it was straight at Vorm.
The crowd were dismayed by Liverpool’s superiority. They desperately needed encouragement and hope finally came when Lucas Moura spun away from his marker and drilled a low shot against the foot of Alisson’s right hand post. The home fans roared in relief as much as excitement. They took it as a sign Spurs were not out of the game yet.
Trent Alexander-Arnold jumps to control the ball in front of Klopp, on his 50th senior appearance for the Reds
Virgil van Dijk goes up to battle with striker Harry Kane in the opening stages of the midday showdown
Both opposing managers greeted each other in the dug-out prior to the kick-off at Wembley
A minute later, they began to reassess. Liverpool just had too many ways in which to hurt them. Mane broke free down the left and his pace took him to the byline. Vertonghen stretched to intercept his cross but could only deflect it on to the inside of the post. The ball bounced across goal and squirmed agonisingly through the hands of Vorm as he lay on the floor. Firmino reacted quickest and lashed the ball into the net.
Liverpool should have gone three ahead midway through the second half when Mane led a lightning counter attack that brought more murmurs of disquiet from the home fans. With Keita free to his left and goal machine Salah free to his right, Mane chose Keita. He hit his shot too close to Vorm, who was able to divert it over the bar. On the touchline, Klopp spread his arms wide in irritation.
His anger at his team’s profligacy was given focus in injury time when substitute Erik Lamela took advantage of some sloppy Liverpool defending to control the ball at the back post, let it drop and then volley it with superb technique across Alisson and into the corner of the net.
Spurs pushed desperately for an equaliser but it would not come. Liverpool march on.
Link article
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/15/tottenham-1-2-liverpool-wijnaldum-and-firmino-extend-reds-unbeaten-run/
Main photo article Harry Kane is tired, people are saying. Spurs are tired, people are saying. Liverpool, though, are not tired. Liverpool are playing like a team that wants to make up for lost time. Liverpool are playing like a team that has not won the league for 28 years and desperately, desperately does not...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Sport HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/15/14/5034601300000578-6170837-image-a-54_1537017905618.jpg
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