“We started to make some mistakes and we knew that Liverpool is a team that likes to run if you give them space, with [Sadio] Mane, [Roberto] Firmino, [Philippe] Coutinho, [Adam] Lallana or [Georginio] Wijnaldum who can damage you”, Pochettino said in his press conference after the games as was quoted by ESPN.
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Eventually the Reds would score in the 43rd minute but it was less about Spurs’ awful defense (even though it was quite bad) and more about referee Bobby Madley calling a soft foul on Érik Lamela. We played football and defended really good.
The England fullback’s strike means he has already matched his tally from last season and it preserved Spurs’ unbeaten record following their draw at Everton and victory over Crystal Palace. “Three points from four games – we probably could have had more”.
“And it was true that at half-time it was a deserved 1-0 to Liverpool and the second half we raised our performance levels. Brilliant play. What can I say, it’s not too good, but it happened”. “I think we are in the same way and it was a fair result”.
“They are a good defensive team so it’s very hard to create one chance, but we had a few”.
The hosts suffered a setback in the 28th minute when Kyle Walker was replaced by new signing Vincent Janssen, although it was Liverpool’s Sadio Mane, a £34 million (S$60 million) signing from Southampton, who dazzled in the first half. “We had to change a bit our plan and started to play with two strikers”, he said. “At the moment, we’re not completely there physically and you could see that in the second half”.
Tottenham were fortunate they found enough to claim a point from a game in which they mostly toiled, while Liverpool had more than enough chances to have garnered all three points before Danny Rose escaped the general congestion to equalise.
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But the result against Burnley adds negative context to the draw with Tottenham, especially with how they were unable to put Spurs away despite creating the requisite amount of chances. It wasn’t easy. We played a team that played flawless counter-attack and the draw is a fair result. “We showed we can be good”.
