Tottenham put in a ‘disastrous’ performance against Liverpool as they were downed 3-1 by Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The Reds scored their first Premier League goal in 482 minutes when Roberto Firmino netted just before half-time, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mane also firing past Hugo Lloris after the break.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg did give the hosts some hope with a fine long-range strike when the Reds were 2-0 up, but Mane’s finish guaranteed Liverpool took all three points back to Merseyside.
Spurs also lost Harry Kane to an ankle injury which is set to sideline the skipper for a few weeks, while questions were asked about Jose Mourinho’s decision to start the match with a back five.
And former Lilywhites defender Jason Cundy was one of those criticising the Spurs boss for his tactical decisions when he spoke on the Sports Bar just minutes after the final whistle blew on the north London clash.
“It’s a disaster for Spurs, there is no other way around this,” said Cundy. “It was a disastrous 90 minutes.
Hojbjerg scored a stunner for Spurs, but it was a rare highlight in an otherwise poor performance[/caption]
“And it started with the team selection. Jose showed his cards and he’s gone for five at the back.
“That is not three at the back, it’s a five; I was at Stamford Bridge yesterday and the way Wolves played was a five at the back but the midfield was packed.
“Spurs didn’t do that; Spurs left themselves vulnerable in the middle of the park.
“And Liverpool dominated.”
Heung-min Son thought he had opened the scoring for the hosts inside the opening minutes only to see his goal disallowed for offside, and this was one of Spurs’ rare attacking forays on Thursday night.
In fact, Tottenham managed just three shots against Liverpool – their lowest tally in a Premier League game this season – and Cundy thinks Mourinho’s side were far too easy for the Reds to marshal.
“There were moments in the first half when Spurs looked like they could threaten, but it was a little bit too predictable,” added the talkSPORT host.
“There was no general build-up play, and is that the best way to get through Liverpool – long balls over the top? Spurs are better than that; they are a better team than that.
“The Spurs players did not look comfortable in that formation, and Liverpool were finding too much space in dangerous areas and they couldn’t quite make it tell.
“If you go five at the back and play with Son and Kane you are going to get outnumbered, and Liverpool just outnumbered them.”
For his final assessment of the match, Cundy said: “Liverpool didn’t have to do a lot, I don’t think.”