- Aug 20, 2013
- 9,188
- 14,102
As I just said, classic revisionism.
We began to play through their press after 20 mins or so Dele (x4), Eriksen, Sissoko, Trippier were all guilty of misplacing their final balls, this was pretty much the pattern of the match, Son had 2 1on1's with Van Dijk...These chances aren't recorded in stats.
So to say that Liverpool controlled the match superbly is nonsense, we broke their press on a number of occasions and better decision making would have seen us score, as I said all they did was soak and play on the counter and it's not as if the chances they were creating were measured chances - they were speculative.
I suggest you watch the match again: http://fullmatchsports.com/tottenham-hotspur-vs-liverpool-highlights-full-match-ucl-final-2019
Yep this was pretty evident when I could finally bring myself to re-watch the game.
What was also obvious was that, rightly or wrongly, we played conservatively after going a goal behind because we simply couldn't afford to go two down. The penalty changed the entire game and turned it into a scrap by both teams.
The idea that we "weren't up for it" or that Liverpool "controlled the game" is total and utter bollocks. Would we have seen a different (better) Liverpool if they had'n't got that penalty? Perhaps - maybe even probably. But the game was an absolute balance until the last 15 minutes when we really had to go for it.
And whether you think the Sissoko penalty was right or not it's indisputable it changed the nature of the game and made it completely different to all recent Spurs/Liverpool contests in recent memory.