Tottenham suffered an exit from the EFL Cup after a 2-1 loss against Liverpool. He made 10 changes from the team that played in the 0-0 draw against Bournemouth during the weekend. Liverpool made one more change as both teams made clear where their priorities lie this season. Tottenham have become extremely cautious in their energy levels due to their involvement in the Champions League, and the same applies to Liverpool who are aiming for the title.
Both managers did not show any reduced passion as a result of the game’s lower importance. There were even words of fury shared between the two managers on the touchline. Pochettino explained the reasons for his unhappiness in the post-match press conference. Daniel Sturridge scored both goals for Liverpool before Vincent Janssen continued his impressive form in the EFL Cup with a goal from the penalty spot. However, Pochettino felt that the referee made a couple of erroneous decisions and he was least helped by the highly animated Liverpool bench.
Pochettino says that Tottenham suffered from a number of poor tackles and the one from Liverpool youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold on Ben Davies was so bad that the player should have been sent off with a straight red card. Instead, Pochettino was surprised to see the youngster let off lightly by referee Jonathan Moss. Pochettino felt that the huge amount of pressure from the Liverpool bench made the referee chose a wrong decision. According to the Daily Star, Pochettino said:
“I think it was strange that at the end of the game they started to complain.
“The full-back Arnold should be sent off in the first-half, I have seen the tackle again on Ben Davies.
“It is the referee’s authority to say if it was a penalty or not. It was strange.
“They complained about a normal game, but maybe yes, they were lucky to finish with eleven on the pitch.”
Klopp has always been a passionate manager and sometimes this can be wrongly interpreted by the opposition manager. Although there appears to be a case for the same, the referee seemingly got carried away with the Anfield crowd.
The result leaves them searching for their first win in four games. After three consecutive draws, the team has now suffered this defeat which puts them in a bad shape going into the weekend’s game against champions Leicester City. It also starts a crucial run of three games in which Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal are the next opponents.
As for Liverpool, the season keeps on getting better. They have continued to the unbeaten run that now stretches to 10 games. The last defeat suffered by the Reds was back in August in the shock 2-0 loss against Burnley. After having just qualified for the last eight of the EFL Cup, Liverpool will start thinking about winning the title. Jurgen Klopp came so close to winning the cup last season only to be beaten by Manchester City in the final.
