Liverpool have proved themselves the Premier League’s irresistible force in the past 18 months, and we’re about to find out whether Tottenham Hotspur can become the immovable object at the top of the table this season.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp put it slightly differently in his Tuesday news conference, labeling Spurs a “results machine,” in reference to his counterpart Jose Mourinho replacing flair with functionality as Tottenham arrive at Anfield as improbable League leaders with 12 games played. Wednesday’s meeting between first and second — separated only by goal difference — asks the toughest question yet of the Mourinho renaissance, but could also serve as a referendum about whether last season’s standard-bearers can repeat anything like the form that secured Liverpool’s first top-flight title in 30 years.
The Reds have had more vulnerabilities this season, something Klopp has repeatedly attributed to the punishing schedule created by a condensed season resulting from COVID-19. Rarely one to waste an opportunity to take a swipe at Liverpool — Mourinho’s animosity dates back to a fierce rivalry created during his first spell as Chelsea manager between 2004 and 2007 — the Spurs head coach dismissed talk of Klopp’s options being severely weakened by injury.
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Virgil van Dijk‘s essentially season-ending knee ligament injury aside, Klopp can call on the vast majority of his senior players in midweek; Mourinho somewhat mischievously chose to highlight that during his pre-match news conference by effectively naming 10 of the players he expects to start Wednesday’s game, including Liverpool’s fabled front three: Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. Equally, he sought to underscore the differing time frames the two managers have had to implement their respective methodologies, comparing the 1,894 days Klopp has been in charge to his own 390 “fake days” — labeled “fake” because of the disruption caused by COVID-19.
Spurs have secured seven points from three games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, but it would be another matter entirely were they to blunt last season’s most devastating attack and end Liverpool’s unbeaten home record in the League, which dates back to April 2017.
Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son are delivering devastating numbers of their own in 2020. They’ve already combined for 12 league goals this season — half of Spurs’ total — and offer a cutting edge to complement the defensive resilience that’s been the underreported foundation of such a promising start. Mourinho has sought to play down Tottenham’s title chances, but that will be extremely difficult to do if they can beat Liverpool, who in turn must rediscover their high-octane best to pull clear of the chasing pack.
Mourinho rarely feels the weight of history on his shoulders, preferring instead to perceive each fixture as an “isolated event” rather than an accumulation of past experiences that can influence the present. That is probably just as well in the context of Tottenham’s record at Anfield, having won just twice there in 27 years of Premier League football. In fact, Spurs once went 73 years without beating Liverpool on their own ground between 1912 and 1985, a bizarre run that began the same year that the Titanic sank in The Atlantic Ocean.
That historical quirk led to many awkward comparisons between the sunken vessel and Spurs, leading to former boss Peter Shreeves to label the task of winning at Anfield as “another chance to refloat the Titanic” prior to finally ending their hoodoo in March 1985. Some proclaimed them as title favourites that year after beating the Reds, and although it wouldn’t quite merit the same reaction 35 years on, improving Tottenham’s record on the road against the top clubs is one of the final obstacles left for Mourinho to turn them into genuine contenders.
For all the plaudits Mauricio Pochettino earned during five years of almost-unchecked progress prior to his sacking last November, Tottenham consistently fell short at the homes of their main rivals. In 28 away games against the “Big Six” (Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal), Pochettino’s record read: won three, drawn nine, lost 16. It was a principal reason why Spurs didn’t quite manage to cap his half-decade at the helm with a trophy to show for all the smiles he created, hinting at a fragile mentality that Mourinho quickly identified as a palpable weakness.
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Mark Ogden says fatigue is catching up with Liverpool ahead of their crunch match with Spurs.
Mourinho’s mission to change that fragility has generally led him to adopt a more pragmatic approach in big games, even if his only victory as Tottenham head coach in four attempts away at the Big Six came in a 6-1 demotion of United in October. Spurs have been more conservative since, failing to register a single shot of any kind in the second half of a dour goalless draw at Chelsea last month, but Klopp was quick to dispel the notion that Mourinho’s revival has come solely from his accuracy in parking the bus.
“The style of play, I see a lot of similarities with us to be honest in the way they set it up, the way they build up,” said Klopp. “They play football, actually. You are right: they are not bothered [about criticism for] sitting back on top of that, defending the result and go for counter-attacks but that is not the only strength of Tottenham. That’s probably if you only read newspapers about Tottenham games, that could be your impression, but if you watch their games then you see they have a proper football side and play real football.
“You see how Kane dropping probably in a way [Roberto] Firmino did it, then the two quick wingers right and left. To defend Kane in these areas is really difficult, then a very offensive midfielder, like a second 10 if you want, with [Tanguy] Ndombele or [Giovani] Lo Celso, then two physically strong midfielders but football-wise strong as well.
“That’s football, what they play, not only counter-attacking. You cannot be top of the league with just counter-attacking. I just see what I see and what I see is unfortunately pretty good.”
Equally, Mourinho tried to paint Tottenham as risk-takers when highlighting the push they made for a winning goal in the final 10 minutes against Crystal Palace last Sunday, ignoring the fact they sat back after taking the lead and seemed all too content to see the game out before Jeffrey Schlupp scored to force Spurs out of their shell. The level of ambition Mourinho encourages his Tottenham players to show is likely to dictate the level of entertainment we’ll get at Anfield, unless Liverpool can rediscover the blistering spells of football no other team could live with last season.
“Everybody struggles there because nobody wins there,” said Mourinho. “Even other clubs with good records at Anfield, they struggle to get good results [recently]. It is true we managed to get good results against the top teams, but that doesn’t mean much. It is a game where we don’t change our philosophy. We want to win.”
Liverpool are unbeaten in 65 home league matches, registering 54 wins and dropping just 22 points from 192 available. Since January 2019, they’ve dropped four points from their last 40 games at Anfield. It is a staggering reminder of their impressive longevity, and also why there is merit to the view that injuries and fatigue represent the biggest threat to Liverpool retaining their crown. How Mourinho would like to prove Tottenham should be something else for Klopp to worry about.