Another defeat for Liverpool
Liverpool drops a place to assume the 10th spot in the Barclays Premier League after a defeat at the hands of Tottenham. The defeat means Liverpool are now just 5 points clear of the relegation zone. Tottenham on the other hand are just a point
behind 4th placed Manchester City. The match looked set for a 1-1 draw but Englishman, Aaron Lennon had other plans and his late goal ensured a victory for the Spurs after they came from behind for the fifth time this season.
Tottenham had to suffer an early blow when midfielder Rafael van der Vaart got injured inside 12 minutes of play; he was replaced by striker Jermain Defoe. The English striker was the first to force a save out of Jose Reina through a left footed curling
shot. Tottenham goal keeper Heurelho Gomes was brought into action by Maxi Rodriguez and moments later by Dirk Kuyt. Gomes produced excellent saves on both occasions to deny Liverpool the opening goal. Referee Martin Atkinson was forced to pull out his yellow
card twice, on Raul Meireles and Paul Konchesky, inside the first 30 minutes of a fast paced game.
Jamie Carragher prevented Tottenham from taking the lead after just over half hour into the game. The defender threw himself in front of the ball to block Defoe’s shot. Defoe was offered this chance after Reina had spilled a cross from Luka Modric, straight
into Defoe’s feet. The home side was forced to make another substitution inside the first half due to an injury to Younes Kaboul. Sebestian Bassong came on to see Liverpool take the lead 3 minutes before half time. Skrtel slotted the ball home after confusion
in Tottenham’s defense line caused by a Meireles’ free kick. Liverpool could have doubled their lead in first half stoppage time but Torres and Maxi failed to capitalize.
Torres was played by Lucas Levia through a sluggish Spurs defence, after the restart. The Spanish striker however was stopped in his stride by a well timed tackle by Bassong. Spurs were denied an equalizer on the 52nd minute by a goal line clearance
from Meireles, after Bale’s vicious shot. Spurs were given a golden opportunity when the referee pointed to the penalty spot after Ngog handled the ball off Gareth Bale's free kick. The substitute failed to convert making it Tottenham’s 4th penalty
miss this season.
Four minutes later the home side did get the goal through Skrtel’s own goal. Modric had made a good run inside the box and in an attempt to block his cross, Skrtel only managed to put the ball in his own net. Both sides continued to press forward in an attempt
to find the winner. Kuyt was sure he had won a penalty for his side following a rash tackle by Benoit Assou-Ekotto but his plea was dismissed, rather controversially. On the other side of the pitch, Defoe’s celebrations in the dying minutes were short lived
when his goal was disallowed by the off-side flag.
Liverpool had to play the final four minutes without Carragher after he suffered a shoulder injury. This helped Spurs complete their comeback deep into stoppage time when Lennon fired the ball past Reina from a flick by Crouch. Last week, Tottenham defeated
Arsenal 3-2 after being 2-0 down in the first half.
This is Roy Hodgson’s 6th defeat in 15 league matches this season as Liverpool’s manager and he cannot afford any more stutters. Liverpool will now face Steaua Bucuresti in the UEFA Europa League and the fans will not settle for anything less
than a win.
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