Tottenham Dispatches Liverpool 2-1 in Opener
Spurs Take All Three Points Against a Disappointing Liverpool Side
Aug 17, 2009
Liverpool - poor throughout - had equalized in the 54th minute through a Stephen Gerrard penalty before French centerback Bassong rose above the Liverpool defense to head in the game winner. Bassong, only just signed from relegated Newcastle for a fee of 8 million pounds, escaped the marking of Jamie Carragher to steer Croatian winger Luka Modric's curling free kick past a helpless Pepe Reina.
Tottenham With Strong Early Pressure
Tottenham were the superior side from the beginning, and should have taken the lead when Modric did well to keep the ball alive on the Liverpool end-line and crossed with the outside of his right boot to a wide-open Robbie Keane. The former Liverpool striker squandered the chance to punish his old team, however, heading straight at 'keeper Pepe Reina. Tottenham finally took the lead they deserved just before the half-time interval when Tom Huddleston's free kick was blocked by the Liverpool wall; left-back Benoit Assou-Ekkoto was the first to react to the rebound, and his stinging left-footed drive flew untouched through a crowd of players and into the top left corner of Reina's goal.
Newboy Bassong Sinks the Reds
The Reds tied the match in the 54th minute after new signing Glen Johnson's slicing run into the Tottenham penalty area lured keeper Gomes into an ill-advised lunge that send the right back tumbling; skipper Stephen Gerrard blasted the resulting penalty straight down the middle. But it was another debutante - Tottenham's Sebastian Bassong - who stole the show just minutes later with a powerful header from Modric's free kick. In the final minutes, Liverpool might have had another penalty kick when goalscorer Ekkoto bundled Andrey Voronin off the ball, but referee Phil Dowd was unmoved, and Tottenham collected all three points.
Tottenham's Midfield Dominates
Liverpool's midfield quartet of Mascherano, Lucas, Babel, and Kuyt were thoroughly outplayed by their Tottenham counterparts. Spurs' central axis of Huddlestone and Palacios was terrific, with the Honduran providing a host of crunching tackles and England hopeful Huddlestone showing the range of passing that makes him a strong candidate for Fabio Capello's World Cup squad. After losing Xabi Alonso, perhaps the premier long-range passer in world football, to Real Madrid, Liverpool's central midfield lacked this kind of effective balance, with neither Mascherano nor Lucas providing the necessary attacking thrust. On the wings, converted forwards Babel and Kuyt huffed and puffed without ever really threatening. Tottenham's wingers, by contrast, had a much sharper look about them. Aaron Lennon displayed his electric pace, and the nimble Modric moved freely about the park to keep Tottenham's passing game flowing.
Liverpool's Title Hopes Suffer Early Blow
With title contenders Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Man City all collecting three points, Liverpool's defeat at White Hart Lane puts them in an early hole. While it is still much too soon for hand-wringing, Liverpool's anemic display will do little to convince fans of the Reds that manager Rafael Benitez's side can improve on last season's 2nd place finish. Indeed, with the departure of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid, Gerrard's deployment as a withdrawn forward, and the continued absence through injury of new signing Alberto Aquilani, the Liverpool midfield looks decidedly less skilled than that of its title rivals. Only the Israeli Yossi Benayoun - who entered the match for Babel in the 68th minute - showed the kind of guile and movement to match Tottenham's crafty Croatian Modric. In attack, too, Liverpool appears lightweight - while Spurs boss Harry Redknapp was able to bring on England International Peter Crouch and Russian hitman Roman Pavlyuchenko, who have over 50 Premier League goals between them, Benitez has only the unproven Andrey Voronin and David N'Gog to back up the injury-prone Torres and Gerrard.
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