Liverpool 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur – Match Review

The big names were back as Liverpool closed their tour of the US with a friendly against fellow Premier League outfit Tottenham. The game was held at the home of the Baltimore Ravens in the M & T Bank Stadium. Liverpool fans were excited to see the likes of Steven Gerrard, Andy Carroll, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing back in the squad as well as new signing Fabio Borini.

Despite the stadium being used to hosting the American take on football, it was two Champions League qualification hopefuls taking part on Saturday. Both sides struggled to get going in the sweltering heat, and the slow pitch did the tempo of the game no favors. It is therefore not surprising that the game was littered with misplaced passes and lacked any quality chances. The 0-0 result was a fair reflection on the game, with Tottenham shading the first half and Liverpool having the better of the second half. 

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers and new Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas are in similar positions, with both men finding their feet at a new club and trying to impose their modern attacking style of play on their respective squads.

Rodgers lined up with a relatively strong back four, a midfield trio of Jay Spearing, Jonjo Shelvey and Charlie Adam, while academy hot-shot Adam Morgan got his first start for the club playing up top.

The first half was a drab affair of few chances. Liverpool’s best moment came after Morgan beat the offside trap but Spurs keeper Brad Friedel parried his near-post effort wide.

Spurs came the closest to scoring when Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones misjudged Gareth Bale’s cross and Aaron Lennon stole around the back but could only hit the post from three yards with the goal gaping.

The back four were fairly solid throughout the half, with Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel looking imposing. Jose Enrique still looks like he is struggling to regain his best form, but Jon Flanagan did well on the right hand side.

Spearing again did well protecting the back four, and sprayed some nice passes around the field too. Adam, despite giving the ball away with practically the first kick of the game, looked surprisingly solid and composed before being taken off at half time. Shelvey was again the pick of the midfield as he drove forward to good effect and threatened the Spurs goal.

Downing was given an immediate start after returning from holiday on Monday but he looked in good form as he whipped in some dangerous crosses and linked up well with his teammates. Unfortunately, Joe Cole on the opposite wing had a fairly torrid afternoon, struggling to get on the ball and when he did he lost it more times than not. Morgan harried the Spurs defenders and both dropped deep to show for the ball and made some excellent runs around the back. This was another very positive performance from the youngster.

The second half started off in a similar fashion to the first, until wholesale changes were made by Rodgers. Henderson was already on at half-time, as was Nathan Eccleston, Raheem Sterling, Andre Wisdom and Peter Gulacsi. In the 61^st minute Rodgers added to the fresh faces, with Gerrard, Lucas, Borini, Jack Robinson, Stephen Sama, Danny Wilson and later Carroll coming on.

The introduction of a dominant midfield of Lucas, Henderson and Gerrard gave Liverpool the edge as they looked most likely to score.

The inexperienced defense coped well with what Spurs threw at them, with Gulacsi rarely being called upon to make a save. Wisdom and Robinson both got forward well, with the former almost setting up Carroll with a dangerous cross.

Sterling caused the Spurs defense all sorts of problems, but his final ball was lacking. He got himself into some great positions with Eccleston (later replaced by Carroll), Borini and Carroll all bearing down on goal but Sterling struggled to find them.

Borini especially looked dangerous without seeing too much of the ball. He was constantly a step ahead of his man and open in the area waiting for a cross. He looked sharp and his strikers’ instincts were clear to see. Carroll also did his chances of staying at the club no harm with a solid performance without getting overly involved.

Rodgers will have been happy with what he saw during this game as well as the whole US tour, despite coming away winless in three games. Starlets as young as 16 made appearances and impressed, while a number of the lads made their senior debuts. There was a considerable improvement in the attacking play from the opener against Toronto to the final game against Tottenham, with players visibly understanding their roles in the system better and better with every game.

The future looks positive as Liverpool head back to England and prepare for their opening Europa League qualifier in Belarus against FC Gomel on Thursday night.

Line-up: Jones (Gulacsi 45'); Flanagan (Wisdom 45'), Carragher (Sama 61'), Skrtel (Wilson 61'), Enrique (Robinson 61'); Spearing (Lucas 61'), Shelvey (Gerrard 61'), Adam (Henderson 45'); Downing (Sterling 45'), Morgan (Eccleston 45' (Carroll 71')), Cole (Borini 61').