JAMIE REDKNAPP put it best: “I cannot remember a team in my lifetime go down with less of a fight than Spurs did today.”
Yes indeed, Tottenham were brutally dismembered by a rampant Liverpool in Thursday night’s Carabao Cup semi-final humiliation.
Holding a shock 1-0 lead from the first leg, Spurs were never truly in the tie at Anfield.
And when Cody Gakpo poked home the Reds’ opener to level the scoreline on aggregate, everyone just seemed to know the writing was on the wall.
Mohamed Salah converted a penalty early in the second half to take the aggregate lead, before Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk made it 4-0 to shovel salt in Spurs’ seeping wound.
Liverpool were at their scintillating best: winning the ball back on the high press, pinging pinpoint passes and breaking with terrifying pace. They made Spurs look non-league at times.
Arne Slot inherited a squad many believed would struggle to crack the top-four.
Yet the Reds won the 36-team Champions League group, are six points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand, are into the Carabao Cup final and are preparing for their FA Cup fourth round tie with Plymouth.
But for as good as Liverpool were on the night, my goodness Tottenham allowed them to look like 2010-11 Barcelona with a dash of heavy metal Gegenpress.
In fact, Spurs looked like a team with no tactics, no structure, no clue…
When Ange Postecoglou took over at Tottenham, he was quick to implement his own style and did enjoy initial success.
The Australian boss had a plan and wouldn’t turn his back on that for instant success.
However, against Liverpool at Anfield, Spurs were all over the place – quite literally.
Ange lined up his XI in his usual 4-3-3, with a decent amount of width with two full backs and two wingers.
Despite that, the average positions of all 11 players were desperately central.
Son Heung-min was the widest player on the night – averaging just left of the centre-circle.
But ‘full-backs’ Djed Spence and Archie Gray ended up playing bafflingly central.
That was, in part, caused by Spence playing – as Redknapp put it – “14 different positions” on the night.
But Gray is a central midfielder played constantly out of position due to injuries. Credit to the 18 year old for his adaptability, versatility… and general ability!
Son was also the player who ventured the furthest forward… averaging a fraction over the halfway line.
Liverpool, of course, don’t allow teams time to breathe and are rarely out-possessed, while their counter-attacking speed and prowess can lead to some lack of shape.
But the average position map makes for embarrassing reading.
And then there’s the Mathys Tel problem…
The January loan signing from Bayern Munich, 19, hasn’t scored a single goal this season.
Yet the striker was in demand, with Spurs battling the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal for his signing.
Spurs fans worried about paying £10MILLION for a three-and-a-half-month loan deal, but Postecoglou adamantly claimed the French teenager was going to be at the club for years to come.
Tel climbed off the bench late in the first half following an injury – yes another Spurs injury – to Richarlison.
Tel was expected to lead the line, as the Brazilian had done, centrally.
And yet, according to his heat map and touch map, spent the majority of the night in the left-wing-back position… and a small chunk on the right wing.
In all, Tel – the centre-forward Ange so desperately wanted – had just ONE touch of the ball in the box, in a not-so-dangerous position wide on the right and barely made it into the centre of the pitch.
Again, Liverpool’s stellar play led to some backs-against-the-wall stuff from Tottenham – as proved by their “inexcusable” effort of ZERO shots on target.
But chasing the game, with a cup final on the line, after nearly three decades without a trophy, with millions of people watching…
To just seemingly give up? It’s inexcusable… and it will surely lead to a major debrief in North London in the coming days.