Spurs weary but future-proof
With five of his players having made impressive impacts for England during the international break, it was perhaps inevitable that a number of key Spurs stars looked fatigued as they returned to domestic duty.
Dele Alli, one of the sensations of this or any other season at both domestic and international levels, was just one player who was short of his usually imperious best in the Anfield stalemate but, as Pochettino proudly pointed out in its aftermath, the midfielder, who turns 20 a week today, can and will only improve from such experiences.
“He was tired, it is normal because when a young player goes on international duty they always like to show to the national team that it is all new — they need to show to the manager of the national team that they deserve to play again in the next games,” explained the Tottenham manager.
“So always it is tough for them. Not only physically but mentally, emotionally, too. And then there is not too much time to rest and prepare after that and so you will feel a little bit tired.
“But as he gets older he will learn to keep things at one level and not have to go through the big emotional charge.
“The first time they get called up, always it’s all new. It happened with Lallana the first times and with Luke Shaw and others. It is difficult to deal with and to manage the situation.
“It is difficult because you want to prove so much and so you expend more energy than the player with more experience.”
Pochettino, of course, is uniquely placed to talk about the young player syndrome having overseen the emergence of so much precocious talent, first the likes of Adam Lallana and Shaw at Southampton and now at Tottenham where Harry Kane, to name but one, has scored 22 league goals this season, a club record in the Premier League era.
The clinical manner in which the 22-year-old scored goal number 22 suggested that, whatever the outcome of the current tussle with Leicester, Pochettino is entitled to talk about his club’s future in such optimistic terms.
“It is true this is not just about this season,” he said. “When you compare Tottenham with big sides, people can see that this approach is for the long term.
“We have the youngest squad in the Premier League yet we are here fighting for the title. But the project is fantastic, because we are ahead of the programme— we are only going to get better.
“This is true because for a lot of players this is their first season in the Premier League and it is sure that next season they will be better because they will have more experience. And in football you always need time to develop to your full quality.”
Kane’s finish was little short of magnificent, collecting a short pass from Christian Eriksen, turning, leaving marker Dejan Lovren floundering and planting an unstoppable shot beyond Simon Mignolet.
But Liverpool’s opening goal, 11 minutes earlier, was hardly its inferior. The impressive Philippe Coutinho started the move, and ended it emphatically, playing a one-two with Daniel Sturridge and beating Hugo Lloris from the edge of the area.
Sturridge, working his way back into regular football after his much-publicised injury concerns, made a decent contribution to this Liverpool effort which probably explained why he showed obvious dissatisfaction when he was replaced after 70 minutes, a fairly common occurrence for the striker in recent weeks.
“I think that’s completely normal, especially with the quality of Daniel Sturridge,” said his manager Jurgen Klopp. “He has to think ‘leave me on the pitch and I can decide the game’.
“That’s true, but in this moment we need other help in the game. We needed ways behind the line.
“I saw that he was not happy because I’m not blind. But that’s not a problem because if he came off and celebrated something would be really wrong.
“You cannot play football with this confidence when you are like we are. You have to think ‘yes, I’m the best’. I like this — as long as he doesn’t come off the pitch and do something really strange like kicking me from behind!”
Mignolet 5; Clyne 6, Lovren 5, Sakho 5, Moreno 6; Henderson 6, Can 5; Milner 6 (Ibe 90), Lallana 7 (Allen 82), Coutinho 9; Sturridge 7 (Origi 71, 6).
Toure, Skrtel, Smith, Ward.
Lloris 9; Walker 6, Alderweireld 6, Wimmer 6, Rose 6; Dier 6, Dembele 6; Son 6 (Chadli 66, 6), Alli 6 (Mason 88), Eriksen 6; Kane 8.
Vorm, Trippier, Onomah, Carroll, Davies.
J Moss 5
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