They are a good team, Tottenham, but just don’t mention those away games against their rivals.
On a night when Sadio Mane showed everyone just what Liverpool missed during his five-week absence while on African Nations Cup duty with Senegal — scoring two goals in two minutes to secure a 2-0 victory over Spurs — Mauricio Pochettino’s team failed to turn up for the party once again.
Tottenham are formidable at White Hart Lane and can be pretty unyielding on their travels against the lesser teams, but with Chelsea preparing to move 12 points clear at the top of the table in the event of a win at Burnley on Sunday, Pochettino’s men missed a golden opportunity to establish themselves as the biggest threat to Antonio Conte’s team by doing what they always do — falling short at the homes of their closest rivals.
This defeat at Liverpool left Spurs with just one victory from their past 15 games away to the top six. That solitary win came at Manchester City in February, at a time when their opponents were digesting the news that Pep Guardiola would be replacing Manuel Pellegrini as manager.
As for this season, Tottenham’s two previous losses before Saturday came at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, with Spurs only able to draw at the Emirates and the Etihad.
The good news, of course, is that their difficult road trips might now be out of the way.
Of their remaining away games, Tottenham’s only opponent currently in the top 10 is West Ham, but if there is a psychological block barring their way to the top, it emerges when they face the likes of Liverpool away from home. Perhaps they will recover and remain unbeaten between now and the end of the season, but it is too late for their title hopes.
“We are second in the table, but my feeling now is not so good,” Pochettino said. “But we need to recover after this defeat and fight.
“It’s true that nine points is a massive gap and 12 points will make it even more difficult.
“But it is difficult to fight for the Premier League if you show that performance, that lack of desire to play for a win. If you start a game like we started, then it is very difficult.”
Chelsea, even if they fail to win at Turf Moor, are disappearing over the horizon and Tottenham have now allowed themselves to be dragged into a bitter five-club scramble for Champions League qualification. Only two points separate Spurs in second and Manchester United in sixth, so if the title race is over, there is certainly still plenty to play for.
None of Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City or Manchester United are playing well enough to be certain of a top-four finish, with each displaying positives and negatives in recent weeks. Spurs were unusually lethargic at Anfield, with Pochettino’s players beaten at their own game by Liverpool.
The home side tore Spurs apart with their high energy and incessant running during the opening period, scoring twice and going close on three more occasions. Tottenham’s back four was repeatedly forced into mistakes, with Eric Dier and Ben Davies constantly troubled by Mane, Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana, and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris making at least three stunning saves to keep Liverpool at bay.
Jurgen Klopp’s players were unable to sustain their 100 mph approach, tiring as the game wore on, but Tottenham simply could not summon the energy or inspiration to take advantage.
So was it a bad day at the office or a sign of things to come?
Are Tottenham hitting the wall — this was only their third defeat of the season, but they had also failed to win their last two away games at Manchester City and Sunderland — or were Liverpool just too good on the day?
The absence of the injured Danny Rose at left-back hurt Tottenham and Liverpool capitalised by targeting Davies. Jan Vertonghen’s ongoing spell on the sidelines is also an issue, with Dier far less commanding and mobile in the back four as he is in midfield.
But the games do not slow down for Spurs, with a two-legged Europa League tie against Gent on the agenda and an FA Cup trip to Fulham before they resume Premier League commitments at home to Stoke on Feb. 26.
Liverpool, out of all the cup competitions, can now rest up until they travel to Leicester City in 16 days’ time, but do not be fooled into thinking that this win banished the grey clouds that have been hovering over Anfield since the turn of the year.
Klopp’s “heavy-metal football” blew Tottenham away in the first half, but they could not keep it going in the closing stages and might have paid the price against more determined opponents.
The trip to Leicester will test Liverpool’s revival, with their fixtures against struggling clubs proving so frustrating this season, so it is too early to suggest that a corner has been turned.
“We finally started 2017 tonight, but we should not go nuts immediately,” said Klopp. “We have the potential to do much better, the next chance is against Leicester and we have to use this time now to start with a little pre-season.
“Today the pressure was on us but we dealt with it. We had a really bad period, but we are still around, not with Chelsea, but with the rest.
“It shows we are able to do some good things. To qualify for the Champions League has to be our aim, but we need this performance consistently.”
Both Liverpool and Tottenham have question marks still hanging over them, but so do their rivals in the race for the top four. Arsenal continue to look nervous, Manchester United have yet to show they have fully solved their problems in front of goal, while Manchester City must overcome a tricky trip to Bournemouth on Monday before focusing on their Champions League tie against Monaco.
They are all in it together, five of England’s biggest clubs, but two of them will end the season having failed.
And after this result at Anfield, it is anyone’s guess as to which of them will be the winners and the losers.
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