Match Report: Stalemate Shows Signs of Early Progress Made by Klopp
The Liverpool faithful have impulsively taken to boss Jurgen Klopp already, the travelling party showing their support by unveiling a banner with the words "We Believe" as Liverpool travelled to Spurs in Saturday's early kick off, as adjured by the German coach during his first interview.
As the fans played their part, Klopp stuck to his word too, swiftly changing the outset from depressing to Gegenpressing. Liverpool outran their opponents, a first by a Premier League side against the North London team this season. Ultimately, the match ended goalless, with both sides lacking the necessary quality on the ball.
The German coach's charismatic nature was clear for all to see on the touchline, demonstrating his emotions as dramatically as any emotionally vested fan. All eyes may have been on Klopp but it was his striker - Divock Origi - who nearly stole the show.
Both teams had been unfortunate in the run up of the game, Spurs missing Heung-Min Son as a result to injury and Eric Dier, who has been key in midfield, via suspension. Meanwhile, Liverpool were without strikers Christian Benteke, Danny Ings and Daniel Sturridge, who once again showed his fragility, picking up a knock in the run up to the match. This prompted Klopp to start 4th choice striker Origi, a player Klopp claimed to have once tried to sign for former side Borussia Dortmund.
The Belgian striker had struggled to make much of an impact since his arrival at the club, but having showed a great work ethic from the off; he should have really put Liverpool ahead in the first 10 minutes. Following a flick on by Emre Can from a corner, the young striker's header struck the crossbar from close range. Neither him nor Martin Skrtel could manage to prod the rebounded ball over the line.
It seemed as though Klopp had made an instant impact with Liverpool starting the brightest, despite only being able to influence proceedings with his squad for a handful of days. After an exhilarating start to proceedings, Spurs started to find their feet in the match. Nacer Chadli suffered an ankle injury after 10 minutes, which allowed for the introduction of Clinton N'jie.
The substitute could be forgiven if he believed he put Spurs ahead. Mauricio Pochettino's own pressing game was present this time as Spurs latched on to a lackadaisical pass by Adam Lallana. Harry Kane then played in N'jie, the former Lyon striker firing a first time effort expertly with the outside of his boot that was matched by Simon Mignolet.
The Belgian keeper had one of his better performances of the season, making a crucial save towards the end to deny Kane's effort from just outside the box. The English striker has struggled in the Premier League this season, having found the net just once with his 32 attempts. Although Pochettino hailed his striker's work rate, he acknowledged his team missed that cutting-edge, which may have handed them the win.
It was another Belgian who gained the WhoScored.com man of the match award. Mousa Dembele, who had been shifted out wide thus far this season to accommodate Dier and Dele Alli in the middle of the park, returned to a central position and glided past Liverpool's intensive pressing on several occasions to ease the pressure on Pochettino's side. Dembele earned a rating of 8.90 after completing 5 dribbles and making 9 tackles, the most of any player on both accounts.
Klopp showed his adaptability with his tactical decisions coming into the match, opting for a 4-2-3-1 formation that appeared a 4-3-2-1 at times with James Milner dropping deep. This allowed him to play to the strengths of the players at his disposal. Lallana and Phillipe Coutinho were allowed to float across the final third, with Emre Can - who returned to a more familiar midfield position - and Milner tasked with pressing Spurs from wide areas.
Klopp struggled to find the right word to describe his team's performance, in the end settling for "hectic", while also hinting that his team was a little nervous in possession at times, but was reasonably satisfied with Liverpool’s display, adding: “we could have done better but, (we did) OK after three days.”
One of the question marks that lingers over the Liverpool's new head coach is whether his style of play will be sustained over the season given the number of matches and the lengthy injury list, but this performance exhibited signs of encouragement as he looks to galvanise his side.
Spurs continued their unbeaten run in the league since their narrow defeat on the opening day of the campaign to Manchester United. Having added a sense of resilience at home this season, Pochettino will be confident in using that as a platform to challenge for a top four spot given an upturn in form up front.
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