https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6170837/Tottenham-1-2-Liverpool-Wijnaldum-Firmino-extend-Reds-unbeaten-run.html
Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool: Georginio Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino extend Reds unbeaten run and keep Jurgen Klopp's side top of the Premier League table
- Liverpool extended their unbeaten run by defeating Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium
- Georginio Wijnaldum opened the scoring for Liverpool with a looping header on the cusp of half-time
- Goal-line technology was used to confirm the Dutchman's header had crossed the line and beat Michel Vorm
- Roberto Firmino made it 2-0 for Jurgen Klopp's side less than ten minutes into the second half
- Substitute Erik Lamela pulled one back for the hosts in added time with a powerful yet placed volley
Harry Kane is tired, people are saying. Spurs are tired, people are saying. Liverpool, though, are not tired. Liverpool are playing like a team that wants to make up for lost time. Liverpool are playing like a team possessed, a team that wants to chase its ghosts away, a team that has not won the league for 28 years and desperately, furiously does not want it to become 29.
Last season at Wembley, Spurs overwhelmed them 4-1. It was a result that exposed Liverpool's limitations. This time, Liverpool overwhelmed Spurs. They overwhelmed them with their class and with their conviction and with their energy and with their desire. The 2-1 scoreline may not sound as if it were an emphatic performance but that does not tell the story of the game.
The murmurs of dismay that spread through the ranks of the home crowd whenever Liverpool broke with the kind of speed and intent that spreads terror among opposing defences told the story of the game. The way Liverpool made a good Spurs team look sloppy for most of the 90 minutes was the story of the game. The truth was that Jurgen Klopp's side were in a different class.
Substitute Erik Lamela pulled a late goal back for Tottenham with a powerful volley, but Liverpool held on for a 2-1 victory
Liverpool quickly built upon their lead early in the second half, as Sadio Mane picked out Roberto Firmino for 2-0
The Brazilian smashed the ball home from close range after it hit the post and scrambled through the Spurs defence
Mohamed Salah jumped on his attacking team-mate as the pair headed off to celebrate with the travelling Liverpool fans
The away end burst into scenes of jubilation as Liverpool doubled their lead to go two goals ahead at Wembley
They have five wins from their first five games now, their best start since the 1990-91 campaign, and this victory more than any of the rest was a sign that they are the real deal. That is not to say that they will win the title this season but it looks likely that theirs is a challenge that will test any team that aspires to finish above them to the very limit.
'I am not the kind of personality to wait for problems,' Klopp said after the match, when he was asked about the eye injury that forced Roberto Firmino off the pitch and how he thought his team would react when they had to cope with key absences, 'but I am old enough to know that they will come. I have been in this game long enough to know that no one plays a perfect season.'
For the moment, at least, Liverpool look formidable. Their investment in Alisson and Virgil van Dijk has made a huge difference to their confidence. Their strength has always been their attack but they had an achilles' heel and other teams knew it. Now they are armour-plated in defence and other teams know that, too. They are no longer a soft touch at the back.
They have set this pace even without their talisman of last season, Mo Salah, playing at his peak yet. 'Playing our football that way, that is really nice for a manager,' Klopp said as he lavished praised on his players. This was by far our best performance of the season so I like this kind of development. They are such a good side that if we had played five per cent less, we would have lost.'
Those who have revelled in their long title drought must be starting to get a little worried. Manchester City will take some beating in the race for the title, sure, and Chelsea are looking impressive, too, but every game Liverpool has played this season has been a statement of intent. This time, they don't look like a team that will fade away.
MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS, LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE
TOTTENHAM (4-3-3): Vorm 4; Trippier 5, Alderweireld 6, Vertonghen 6, Rose 6; Dier 5.5 (Wanyama 83), Dembele 5(Lamela 60, 6), Winks 6 (Son 73, 6); Moura 6, Eriksen 6 ; Kane 5
SUBS NOT USED: Sanchez, Gazzaniga, Aurier, Davies
GOAL: Lamela 90+3
MANAGER: Mauricio Pochettino 6
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Alisson 6.5; Alexander-Arnold 6 (Matip 90), Gomez 6 , Van Dijk 7 , Robertson 7; Wijnaldum 7, Milner 7, Keita 5 (Sturridge 83); Salah 6.5, Firmino 7 (Henderson 74, 6), Mane 8
SUBS NOT USED: Mignolet, Fabinho, Moreno, Shaqiri
GOALS: Wijnaldum 38, Firmino 53
MANAGER: Jurgen Klopp 8
REFEREE: Michael Oliver 7
ATTENDANCE: 80,188
Georiginio Wijnaldum got Liverpool off the mark with a looping header. CLICK HERE for more from Sportsmail's Match Zone.
Earlier, Georginio Wijnaldum leapt high to head the ball back in from a clearance and put Liverpool ahead just before half-time
The Tottenham defence attempted to jump in unison to deny Wijnaldum's looping header the chance to reach the goal
But the effort evaded all and goalkeeper Michel Vorm was unable to prevent it crossing the line for 1-0
Goal-line technology was used to confirm the whole ball had crossed the line and Liverpool had broke the deadlock
Liverpool hands immediately shot up to appeal to the officials that the ball had clearly crossed the line for a goal
The Dutchman was mobbed by his team-mates after giving Liverpool an all-important lead just before half-time
Relief spread across the faces of the Liverpool players as they took the advantage heading into the half-time break
Without the injured Dele Alli, Spurs, whose resounding win over Manchester United feels like a long time ago now, seemed to lack conviction going forward. Without the injured, repentant Hugo Lloris, they seemed to lack their usual certainty at the back, too. Eric Dier looked uneasy and out of sorts on the right side of a midfield three and Liverpool seized the initiative from the start.
They thought they had scored in the first minute when Firmino got the faintest of touches to a Milner cross and it eluded Vorm but Mane had tried to prod it in, too, from an offside position and even though he didn't touch it, the officials ruled the attempt out because of his involvement.
Spurs were too careless too often and six minutes before half-time, Liverpool finally scored the goal that their conviction and their brio deserved. It was a surprise, perhaps, that it came from a set piece but when Milner curled a corner in from the Liverpool left, Spurs' normally excellent defending deserted them.
Vorm tried to punch the corner clear but he was distracted by the presence of Van Dijk in front of him and failed to make proper contact. The ball popped up to the back post where Dier headed it away. His clearance lacked power but Gigi Wijnaldum's rejoinder did not.
Ten yards out, Wijnaldum rose and headed the ball in a firm arc over Trippier who had retreated to the line to try to cover Vorm's uncertainties. Vorm flung himself at the ball as it cleared Trippier and pushed it out with both hands but referee Michael Oliver signalled immediately that goal line technology had ruled Wijnaldum's header would stand.
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker roared in appreciation along with the travelling Liverpool fans as his side took the lead
Liverpool had the ball in the back of the net within two minutes of the tie, only for their effort to be ruled offside by the officials
Roberto Firmino got the final touch on a glancing cross, but the position of Sadio Mane meant the goal was chalked off
Jurgen Klopp quickly took up his post at pitchside and began barking commands to his players at Wembley
It was Wijnaldum's first away goal in the Premier League and he sniffed a second a minute or so later when he found himself in space on the edge of the Spurs six yard box. Mane and Firmino lurked in the middle but Wijnaldum was drunk on the glory of goals and shot himself. He dragged his effort across goal and it rolled tamely over the byline.
The crowd was dismayed by Liverpool's superiority. They desperately needed encouragement and hope finally came when Lucas Moura spun away from Joe Gomez and drilled a low shot against the foot of Alisson's right-hand post. The home fans roared in relief as much as excitement. They took it as a sign Spurs were not out of the game yet.
A minute later, they began to reassess. Liverpool just had too many ways in which to hurt them. Trippier was caught out of position, Mane broke free down the left and his pace took him to the byline. Vertonghen stretched to intercept his cross but could only deflect it on to the inside of the post. The ball bounced across goal and squirmed agonisingly through the hands of Vorm as he lay on the floor. Firmino reacted quickest and lashed the ball into the net.
Trent Alexander-Arnold jumps to control the ball in front of Klopp, on his 50th senior appearance for the Reds
Virgil van Dijk goes up to battle with striker Harry Kane in the opening stages of the midday showdown
Both opposing managers greeted each other in the dug-out prior to the kick-off at Wembley
Liverpool should have gone three ahead midway through the second half when Mane led a lightning counter attack that brought more murmurs of disquiet from the home fans. With Keita free to his left and goal machine Salah free to his right, Mane chose Keita. He hit his shot too close to Vorm, who was able to divert it over the bar. On the touchline, Klopp spread his arms wide in irritation.
His anger at his team's profligacy was given focus in injury time when substitute Erik Lamela took advantage of some sloppy Liverpool defending to control the ball at the back post, let it drop and then volley it with superb technique across Alisson and into the corner of the net.
Spurs pushed desperately for an equaliser and should have had a penalty in the dying seconds when Mane kicked Son Heung-Min's standing foot away from him but Liverpool escaped. Even Mauricio Pochettino admitted his opponents deserved to win. Klopp and his team march on.
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