By Samuel A. May 5, 2024
Tottenham Hotspur walked out of Anfield with the door of their Champions League hopes closing slowly, as Ange Postecoglou’s side tripped and fell flat on their faces at Anfield. The 4-2 scoreline does little justice to Liverpool as Spurs were abysmal on the afternoon. It was flattery, doing Spurs a kindness their overall performance did not merit. It must also not deceive anyone in the Spurs camp as the dramatic decline, in a season that held so much optimism at a point in the season, continues its sharp downward curve at a crucial point.
Handed the opportunity to close a seven point game on fourth placed Aston Villa after they slipped up at Brighton, it made a woeful, passive approach that played into Liverpool’s hands for the first 70 minutes. The only moment of serious aggression came as Spurs walked off at half time 2-0 down and keeper Guglielmo Vicario stepped in to separate what threatened to turn into an ugly spat between team-mates Cristian Romero and Emerson Royal.
Spurs were 4-0 down after an hour but spared further embarrassment by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s host of rhythm disrupting changes, plus the sudden sloppiness of a side overcome by complacency because of the simplicity of their task.
Richarlison and Son Heung-min struck to raise some anxiety inside Anfield, but Postecoglou cannot be kidded by another display which brutally exposed the flaws in his approach, one the Australian seemingly has no intention of changing.
It is a high risk strategy in all respects but his defiant stance on his ideology makes it look like a chance he is prepared to take. Postecoglou’s upbeat post match message was presumably the result of a desire not to give his players another lashing after his broadside last week at Chelsea, where they were beaten 2-0. It was an analysis of a poor show, but without enough hammering and critics on the point, hopefully a gallant attempt to keep spirits up otherwise it veered dangerously close to delusion.
The wheels have fallen off the ‘Big Ange’ bandwagon in recent weeks and, for all his efforts at expectation management, there must still be disappointment if Spurs, as looks likely, miss out to Villa on the top four and Champions League football.
At their peak this season, they were top of the table on 3 November with 26 points after eight wins and two draws in their first 10 games. It seems an age ago now.
The last few weeks, though, have been abysmal and no amount of polish can disguise that. It might be against his nature but surely there will be added pragmatism otherwise Spurs will always carry an air of vulnerability.
