It might sound counterfactual, but for Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-2 loss to Liverpool wasn’t all bad. Playing with a squad that has been, in his word, “disrupted” for much of the season, Postecoglou’s Spurs set out to take the match to the Reds in Klopp’s next to last match at Anfield, but ran into a Liverpool side that until recently was in the title race and that ruthlessly punished Tottenham whenever they made a mistake.
And to be fair, Tottenham made plenty of mistakes on Sunday. Spurs opened the match with about 15 minutes of solid play, then conceded a simple headed goal to Mo Salah after Emerson Royal lost him on a back post run. Liverpool eventually scored three more before Tottenham found its footing behind the play of Richarlison, Giovani Lo Celso, and (of all people) Oliver Skipp. Richy and Son Heung-Min each scored within five minutes to make the score at least somewhat respectable, and Tottenham looked much more of a threat in the final 20 minutes of the match.
It was, to put it mildly, pretty grim viewing for Spurs supporters for the majority of the match, but in his post-match press conference, Postecoglou said that despite the heavy defeat this was one of the first times in recent games that Spurs have come out and tried to implement his style of play and play Tottenham football. It just happens that Liverpool are a very, very good team.
“Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football. Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren’t great either, we just didn’t try and play our football. I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be. We lacked a real sort cutting edge for sure. We had nothing in that front third and that allowed Liverpool to get comfortable.
“The flip side of that was when they got forward and into the front third their guys were quite lethal on pouncing on our mistakes. At 4-0 we’ve got a mountain to climb but again when we play like ourselves we always finish strong because we put pressure on the opposition and it eventually takes its toll. We got a couple of goals and we maybe could have had a couple more. It’s disappointing but at least we tried to play and looked like a version of ourselves which gives me something to work with.”
The idea that Spurs could take any real positives from the opening 70 minutes of this match might be a tough pill for some Tottenham supporters to swallow. To be clear, Postecoglou was not saying that Spurs played well or were even better than Liverpool on Sunday. This wasn’t like the Arsenal match where Spurs outplayed their rivals for the majority of the game, but got beat by a combination of set pieces and bad luck. Spurs’ offensive line sputtered, creating one shot and an xG of 0.04 in the first half. Mo Salah terrorized an out-of-position Emerson Royal time and time again.
And yet… amidst all of that dross, there were glimpses of the Spurs team Postecoglou is trying to build.
“Like I said, I thought our football was good today. Under pressure they are a really good pressing team and we played some good stuff to get through them and then we get to the front third and nothing would happen. It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence but again that’s something the guys have to work through.
“You have to find a way to overcome that because ultimately if you don’t put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you’ve worked your way up there, they’re going to get comfortable with their position. It’s probably a little bit of that but we’ve got to find a way to snap out of that because it’s not going to happen on its own.
Ange went on to say that for him it’s not about mentality — playing uncompromising football the Tottenham way against one of the best teams in the league doesn’t show a lack of mentality, it shows a commitment to playing the kind of football they want to play.
“Again I think you’ve missed the point of what I’ve just said. I don’t think we were playing badly, I know we were losing 4-0 and against Arsenal I don’t think we were playing badly, the difference was in the two boxes we kind of lacked a cutting edge and the opposition were good opposition.
“Like I said, it’s got to nothing to do… Mentality. If you come to Anfield and don’t try and play, maybe that shows you don’t have the mentality. We tried to play, we definitely tried to play, so I don’t think it’s a mentality issue at all. In fact, I think it’s the polar opposite of that. The mentality at least tonight was there for us to go out and try and be a version of ourselves. We’re short absolutely but it gives me something to work with.”
These comments continue a season-long theme with Ange — the rebuild at Tottenham is in its infancy, and will take time and patience to see it through. Postecoglou has repeatedly said that it matters less to him that his teams lose to superior opposition, so long as they play with the ideals that he’s trying to teach them. The results he promises will come with time, with patience, and (according to recent comments) with substantial and long-term change.
Look, I’m not going to act superior on this. I watched the match same as everyone reading this article (albeit likely higher on painkillers than most) and was as frustrated by the result as anyone. It is TOUGH watching Tottenham seemingly ride the struggle-bus over the past four matches, coming up significantly short against the same teams that they hope to pip to the title as soon as next season. On the back of four losses on the spin to Newcastle, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool, you can absolutely understand why some Spurs fans are already fed up with Postecoglou’s seeming intransigence in the face of a lot of adversity.
But upon reflection, and after watching back some of the highlights of Sunday’s match again, there’s something there — you just have to dig pretty deep to see it.