Tottenham 0 Liverpool 0: How Jurgen Klopp could have won his first match in charge

ANALYSIS: We've teamed up with Sports Interactive, the makers of Football Manager, to re-run one the weekend's key game to see how the losers might have prevailed had they done things differently

Jurgen Klopp (GETTY IMAGES)

After all the hype around Jurgen Klopp's first match in charge of Liverpool, it should have perhaps come as little surprise that it ended 0-0. But how might the German got the better of Tottenham at White Hart Lane?

THE RE-RUN

With Tottenham's team and formation remaining the same, Sports Interactive simulated the game over again with various Liverpool line-ups and tactics until it produced an alternative result.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Line-up: Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Sakho, Moreno, Allen, Can, Milner, Lallana, Coutinho, Origi (one change from Saturday’s line-up; Tottenham remain unchanged)

Final Score: Tottenham 0 Liverpool 1 (Scorer: Coutinho)

Jürgen Klopp’s reign at Liverpool kicks off with a narrow victory over Spurs at White Hart Lane. Klopp uses his famed high and intensive pressing approach to try to disrupt the flow of Spurs’ play although a number of his players look visibly fatigued at the game’s conclusion. This is evidenced by the average distance covered by Klopp’s men – 8.19km while Emre Can leads the way individually with 12.1km of turf covered.

This high pressing strategy restricts Tottenham’s play between defence and midfield and they are forced into frequently attempting long passes. When they are able to string passes together, the amount of men that Liverpool push forward leaves room for Eriksen and Chadli to operate in. They are Spurs’ biggest threat throughout the game; Chadli hits four shots on target while Eriksen creates three clear cut chances that are only kept out by Mignolet’s fine reaction stops.

Liverpool’s chance creation improves in the second half as they start to settle into Klopp’s philosophy. Divock Origi is the main focal point of the Liverpool attack; dropping deep to collect the ball and feeding in the wingers before consistently making probing runs into the box to try and grab a goal. He hits the post with an effort from the edge of the area but puts his other three shots wide of the goal.

The game’s solitary goal comes courtesy of the dynamic Coutinho after some good work from Can and Allen in the middle of the park. The ball finds its way to Origi who holds the ball up and plays a clever backheel into the path of Coutinho. The Brazilian outpaces Alderweireld before lashing the ball past Lloris from inside ten yards.

That would prove to be one of the final pieces of meaningful action as Tottenham’s increased urgency on the ball, coupled with Klopp’s pressing tactics reduces the game to a midfield battle in the closing stages with the ball spending sixty-eight per cent of its time in the centre section of the pitch.

Football Manager uses a vast database - compiled by approximately 1,300 researchers across the world (including real-life scouts) - to blend reality and fiction. So impressive is the information that it has become a tool used by real life managers. The painstakingly detailing simulation of club management, which allows players to control every aspect of a manager's role, from scouting new player to tactics and training, has sold millions of copies worldwide.