After defeating Spurs, Liverpool team seems to be moving ahead in the title race.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou invoked the famous line from the film Gladiator after the runaway win over Manchester United when he asked: “Are you not entertained?”
It was Postecoglou’s way of answering questions about his cavalier approach after Spurs threatened to concede a 3-0 lead before winning 4-3 in Thursday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final.
The problem is that Postecoglou’s idea of entertainment works both ways – as he and Spurs had to pay the price as they were brutally punished by Liverpool in front of their own supporters.
Liverpool certainly found Spurs highly entertaining in a 6–3 victory that was not an accurate reflection of their superiority. It explains why Arne Slott’s side are in control of the title race with a four-point lead over Chelsea at Christmas, while Spurs sit in 11th, eight points behind fourth.
Entertainment has never been a problem with Spurs under Postecoglou. But when they face a team of Liverpool’s world-class attacking quality the joy is mixed with an element of sporting torture.
Spurs have now scored 30 goals in their last five matches. Entertainment is fine, but 10 of them have been scored against Postecoglou’s team during Chelsea and Liverpool’s consecutive domestic league defeats. In the latter case, the only question was how Liverpool scored only six while somehow giving away three.
Liverpool’s expected goal total was 4.6 while Spurs’s was 1.2. Slot’s team created nine big chances, based on Opta statistics – testament to their dominance as well as the defensive vulnerabilities Postecoglou shows little sign of addressing with added practicality.
It would be unfair to Postecoglou and Spurs not to point out that they are missing first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario as well as central defenders Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven. These are big absences for a team that plays such an open style, especially Van de Ven, whose pace is so vital to Postecoglou’s favored high line.
Spurs are stretched on numbers, meaning Postecoglou fielded an unchanged side from the team that faces Manchester United on Thursday.
However, that has been no such problem for Liverpool, who have won 12 and drawn three of their 16 league matches this season. Their goal difference is also the highest at plus 21.
