Tottenham crash out to Liverpool in damning fashion to leave season on the brink

Spurs’s 1-0 pb from the archetypal limb was cancelled retired by Cody Gakpo’s back-post decorativeness aft 34 minutes and Liverpool took full power of the necktie aft the interval.

Mohamed Salah enactment them up connected aggregate from the punishment spot aft Antonin Kinsky brought down Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai made it 3-0 with a chill finish.

Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk headed location a 4th from a country to acceptable up a gathering with Newcastle successful adjacent month’s showpiece astatine Wembley.Here are 3 Spurs talking points…

Spurs spell retired with a whimper

While determination is nary shame successful losing a knockout necktie astatine Anfield, the mode of his side’s show indispensable person profoundly dismayed Postecoglou, arsenic good arsenic the 6,000 travelling supporters.

After showing truthful overmuch tone and verve successful past month's archetypal leg, Spurs went down with a whimper connected Merseyside – not conscionable thoroughly outclassed by the league leaders but outfought, too. They hardly laid a mitt connected their hosts, who held Spurs astatine arm's magnitude arsenic if they were facing a European minnow.

Whether it was the atmosphere, the juncture oregon simply the cumulative effect of truthful galore games connected specified a stretched squad, Spurs were jittery and careless from the get-go and nary of their experienced players stepped up connected the night.

Liverpool’s archetypal 2 goals were some examples of Spurs’ yips, with Yves Bissouma squandering possession successful the physique up to Gakpo’s fierce decorativeness and Kinsky rashly sprinting disconnected his enactment to concede the spot-kick.

Given Liverpool’s signifier and prime – and the contrasting authorities of the 2 squads – holding onto their 1-0 pb from the archetypal limb was ever going to beryllium a large inquire for Spurs but it felt similar Liverpool did not request to get retired of a 3rd cogwheel to alteration the tie.

As ever with Spurs this season, determination were mitigations successful the signifier of 10 missing elder players; this, though, was a acold bigger crippled for Spurs than Liverpool, who astir apt respect the Carabao Cup arsenic an afterthought, but it did not consciousness that way, which is damning for Postecoglou's side.

Spurs’ play connected the brink

The upshot of specified a limp show is that Spurs’ play is present teetering connected the brink.

Postecoglou’s broadside are truthful acold adrift of the top-eight successful the Premier League, it would instrumentality a spectacular tally for Spurs to adjacent person a changeable astatine making the Conference League, truthful the stakes are done the extortion for Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round necktie astatine Aston Villa.

Lose that game, and the temper volition plummet, portion it volition consciousness similar a agelong 3 months until the extremity of the campaign, with conscionable the Europa League inactive successful play.

While Spurs remained successful with a changeable of reaching a cupful final, it was casual to disregard their dreadful league signifier and defer judgement connected Postecoglou’s struggling broadside until their injured players returned.

That volition beryllium overmuch harder to bash present that Spurs are retired of the Carabao Cup and it volition go adjacent harder inactive if they suffer again to Villa successful 3 days.

Contrasting debuts for Danso and Tel

An wounded to Richarlison successful first-half stoppage-time added wounded to insult for Spurs and it was hard not to consciousness atrocious for the Brazilian arsenic helium pounded the turf successful evident vexation – though, naturally, determination was small sympathy for the erstwhile Everton striker astir Anfield.

His wounded meant a premature debut for Mathys Tel, who led the enactment for Spurs arsenic a No.9 successful the 2nd fractional – seemingly the presumption helium wants to play.

Tel, though, struggled to marque immoderate interaction against Liverpool’s almighty backmost 2 successful a forgettable debut, which volition instantly springiness the teen an thought of the levels successful the Premier League.

Obviously it is far, acold excessively aboriginal for immoderate judgement calls but his deficiency of physicality whitethorn marque him amended suited to a relation from the helping astatine this signifier of his career.

He volition though person to pb the enactment astatine Villa connected Sunday and until Dominic Solanke oregon Richarlison are acceptable again.

No specified problems for Spurs’ different debutant, Kevin Danso, however. The towering centre-half was astir apt the visitors’ champion player, making a fig of important blocks, carrying the shot retired of defence erstwhile imaginable and passing crisply.

Danso bushed successful the 2nd fractional but connected archetypal viewing helium looks a bully acceptable for Postecoglou’s Spurs and English football.