After Tottenham’s woeful defeat to Watford last time out, fans would have been expecting to see an invigorated, gritty Spurs performance at Wembley yesterday.
However, what they were subjected to was 90 minutes of sloppiness, sluggish play, and all round fatigue, as Spurs crashed to their second straight defeat.
In truth, the 2-1 score line flattered Pochettino’s side, with Liverpool playing in third gear, and missing a host of chances to fly away with the game.
After injuries to Dele Alli and Hugo Lloris, Poch was force to mix his team up, but pundit and England legend Alan Shearer wasn’t impressed with his selection.
Pochettino went for a midfield three, with Dier on the right, and Harry Winks on the left, fresh back from injury. Mousa Dembele was chosen to martial the centre of the pitch.
Through the 90 minutes, all three of these centre mids looked uncomfortable on the ball, and loose in position, gifting Liverpool a range of chances in possession.
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Alan Shearer said on Match of the Day: “I was surprised with the team selection – he played Dier on the right of a three in mid and he looked very uncomfortable.
“If there was a time to start Son, he’s just won a trophy, he would be on an incredible high and I thought that would have been the perfect game to put him in.
“The main worry for Tottenham was that Liverpool weren’t even at their very best.
“They probably should have scored six or seven.
“When Pochettino questioned their commitment after Watford, you thought they would be right at it!
“There were so many mistakes and glaring mistakes from every player.
“Liverpool should have a field day and their pressing at times was excellent.
“They pressed Tottenham into mistakes.”
The defeat sees Spurs slip down to 6th, a huge six points behind the leaders Chelsea and Liverpool after only five games.
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