Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 victory against Liverpool may have given the club a new look. Liverpool
The players’ reactions to Simon Hooper’s whistle at fulltime on Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium were quite revealing.
With one arm up and the other defiantly slapping his chest, Jurgen Klopp made his way over to the Liverpool fans seated in the other end. The Reds manager was swiftly followed by Ibrahima Konate, Kostas Tsimikas, Alexis Mac Allister, and Darwin Nunez. Darwin Nunez’s response was possibly the most telling of a unique evening in the city.
The Uruguayan, who had been an unutilized substitute in North London, vigorously beat the Liverbird crest as he urged the Reds fans, who had mostly remained in place during the 2-1 loss, to applaud the efforts of those wearing Liverpool shirts.
Tottenham defeated Liverpool for the first time in the Premier League since October 2017 thanks to a most unfortunate of miskicks from Joel Matip in the 96th minute. At the other end of the pitch, James Maddison, Pedro Porro, Yves Bissouma, and others soaked up the cheers from the home end.
Since Klopp’s team’s dreadful afternoon at Wembley, when they were soundly defeated 4-1 at the Londoners’ temporary home thanks to a calamitous defensive display, especially from Dejan Lovren and Simon Mignolet, a lot has changed at both teams.
Only Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min remain at Spurs after nearly six years, while nine of their eleven starters from that afternoon have left North London. Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo, and Antonio Conte all tried unsuccessfully to take over until Ange Postecoglou was hired in the summer, and now Mauricio Pochettino has also resigned.
Meanwhile, Liverpool has benefited from the consistency of Klopp’s leadership and as a result has seen an unprecedented degree of success at Anfield in the modern age. The German coach has led his team to victories in the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup. There have also been victories in the Community Shield, Super Cup, Club World Cup, and League Cup.
That humiliating loss to Pochettino’s team in 2017—when goals from Harry Kane (2), Dele Alli, and Son condemned Liverpool to the alarming feat of conceding four or more goals in the first hour of a Premier League game for just the third time in 25 years—is actually frequently cited as one of the cornerstones that shaped the formation of Klopp’s first, great Anfield team.
In fact, Lovren’s error-filled performance in the summer of 2017—which led to his getting sent out after just 31 minutes of play—was practically the start of Virgil van Dijk’s Anfield career after Liverpool’s unsuccessful pursuit of the Southampton captain.
Naturally, after Liverpool’s humiliation in North-West London put an end to their worst defensive start to a season since 1964, sporting director Michael Edwards moved quickly to mend fences with Southampton. Less than three months later, he had reached an agreement on a club-record deal to bring the Dutchman to Anfield.
The Reds have already approved a £150 million rebuild in the months of June and July, so it goes without saying that Saturday’s last-second loss to Postecoglou’s team, which was marred by officiating controversy after Luis Diaz’s first-half goal was incorrectly ruled out, won’t be the catalyst for a significant overhaul at Anfield in January or even next summer.
The gutsy defiance that was displayed against Tottenham, though, has the ability to build the groundwork for another period of “Mentality Monsters” on Merseyside for a squad that is just beginning a journey that they hope will one day culminate with an enduring Anfield legacy. The reason for this, of course, is that the North Londoners’ six-year winless record against the Reds was finally ended only after Liverpool was given two red cards and had to play the last 20 minutes with just nine players.
“The boys really made the most of it, it was incredible,” remarked Klopp following the loss. “[The] mindset we displayed was unparalleled; I’ve never seen anything like that. That is the very best. People could assume that we didn’t win the game because of this incredibly unlucky own goal. That’s not how I see it. I believe I gained far more insight into my team than [if] we had come out on top here and had a subpar performance.
“In a certain way, it was a truly great performance. Although we didn’t receive any points for it, we will still use it. That is the strategy.”
Only Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, and Mohamed Salah were present for the loss six years ago from Saturday’s game. Because of this, Liverpool’s chances for the upcoming season were still in question following a summer of considerable turmoil, during which James Milner and Jordan Henderson’s leadership was lost.
The outcome of this most recent trip to Tottenham, however, is one that holds enormous potential after Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexander-Arnold attempted to rally the opposing crowd during the closing moments of the game in the goal of inspiring the nine men of Liverpool to an unlikely victory.
Because of this, September 30 may play a significant role in determining Liverpool’s future appearance.