Liverpool 4-0 Tottenham: Was this new low for Ange Postecoglou and Spurs?
2025-02-07
Category: sports

"Abject", "damaging" and "disgrace".Those were all words used to describe Tottenham's Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg defeat by Liverpool, as Spurs hit new lows in a season full of them.Ange Postecoglou's side were thumped 4-0 at Anfield, giving up a one-goal advantage from the first leg as their hopes of winning a first trophy in 17 years ended in abrupt fashion.For the first time in a game under the Australian, whose teams are usually known for their attacking style of play, Tottenham failed to register a single shot on target. They barely laid a glove on Liverpool."I cannot get my head around not having one shot on target in the semi-final. They were so abject," said former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp on Sky Sports."I cannot remember a team in my lifetime go down with less of a fight than Tottenham did today."There have been some lows but that today, looking at that scoreline, is just horrendous."Spurs have won just one trophy since Daniel Levy became chairman in 2001, although Postecoglou raised hopes that their fortunes would soon change when he said in September that he "always" wins something in his second season.Holding a 1-0 lead heading into the second leg of a cup semi-final may have presented his best chance of doing so - but Tottenham must now look elsewhere for silverware."I didn't like the body language from the Spurs players - they were just jogging around. With Liverpool's attitude towards winning, they made it look like a training game," said former Manchester United defender Dion Dublin on BBC Radio 5 Live.
What happened to Ange-ball at Anfield?
The last time these two sides met away from these two semi-final legs, Liverpool won a thriller 6-3 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League.Another heavy defeat, but this Spurs performance was a far cry from that one. A far cry from 'Ange-ball' - the high tempo, high line, entertaining style fans have become accustomed to under Postecoglou.In the 6-3 loss, they were open at the back but were set up to score too. But on Thursday, it was hard to see where a goal would come from.
On average this season, Tottenham have registered 13.9 shots per 90 minutes, with 5.6 on target.At Anfield, they had five shots, with none on target. They had just eight touches in the opposition box compared to Liverpool's 55. They had 41 successful passes in the final third compared to the Reds' 147.Former Spurs defender Michael Dawson said: "Did I expect it to be like that? No. I expected there to be more fight from the players."They didn't show any character. In possession, out of possession, desire to keep the ball out of the back of the net. To come here and get beat by four and not have a shot on target... it was damaging."
Postecoglou appeared to have instructed his team to sit deep, at times with a back five, to protect their one-goal first-leg advantage. It was very unlike his usual style. And it did not pay off.Spurs invited pressure and were unable to respond going forward, with new signing Mathys Tel making his debut from the bench but struggling to have an impact."Everyone seems to find a way of beating this Tottenham side," said Redknapp. "And the manager right now, he baffles me with his tactics sometimes. I think he's completely lost in what he's trying to do."
Did it all go wrong in midfield?
Tottenham's issues cannot be analysed without also addressing their injury problems.They currently have 10 first-team players out and that tally could rise to 11 after Richarlison went down clutching his calf in the first half and had to be replaced.James Maddison is a clear miss in the middle of the park and, with Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson on the list of casualties too, Spurs struggled for an outlet.Liverpool overpowered Spurs' three-man midfield as Yves Bissouma had a tough time, giving the ball away for the hosts' opener, and Rodrigo Bentancur offered little in defence or attack."When I look at those three midfield players today, they were a disgrace," said former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher."Get after them, be aggressive, maybe forget the ball for the first half an hour. It was just so easy for Liverpool."Son Heung-min has also been unable to reach the heights he has in previous seasons and rarely looks like the man to come up with a moment of magic.Carragher added: "It goes back to that stereotype we all have with Tottenham. There's definitely a mental block with the club."Right now, that is a typical Tottenham team. People say about Ange, the fans have got Spurs back, they've got their club back."Yeah... they've got the club back we've all watched for 40 years. They're nice on the eye when things are going well, but they never win a big game and when they get beat, they get beat badly."
Has Tottenham's best chance of a trophy gone?
Tottenham's form in the Premier League has been miserable - they sit 14th with just eight wins on the board.But the potential of a second-season trophy has kept Spurs' fans faith in Postecoglou.The 59-year-old won the Australian title with both South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar, and the Japanese league with Yokohama F Marinos - all in his second season or second full season. He won trophies in both of his seasons at Celtic - including a domestic Treble in his second.There are three clubs he failed to win trophies with, but he did not see out two seasons in charge of them - Panachaiki, Whittlesea Zebras and Melbourne Victory.Spurs have now squandered one - perhaps the best one - of their three chances to bring silverware to north London."We have given up a good opportunity tonight and we cannot shy away from that," said Postecoglou."We were in a good position to get to the final."However, all hope is not lost.Although they now face the tough prospect of Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, they have also already reached the last 16 of the Europa League.Opta's 'supercomputer' marks Tottenham as second favourites to win that competition with a 15% chance of success, only behind Italian side Lazio (19%).Athletic Bilbao also have a 15% chance, while Manchester United have a 10% chance of lifting the trophy.
Spotlight back on Postecoglou
Back-to-back victories after a run of just three wins in 10 matches temporarily masked what has been a torrid season at times for Postecoglou.Fans have taken out their frustrations on Levy and the ownership in recent weeks rather than their manager, but Postecoglou was handed reinforcements in the transfer window and this loss put the spotlight back on the boss - whose side face Manchester United, Ipswich and Manchester City in their next three league games."I guess that Liverpool deserved the victory," said Postecoglou. They were the far better team - we were not able to get a grip of the game."We allowed them to get into the game and we were not as aggressive as we needed to be. We didn't get the game started off in the right footing."It was very difficult for us to wrestle that control back."