Tottenham vs Liverpool match report: 'Normal one' Jurgen Klopp claims 'normal result' in first game stalemate
Tottenham 0 Liverpool 0
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Occasionally, it is instructive to see ourselves as others see us. Jürgen Klopp might have wanted to see more fun in the eyes of his players, but there was no doubting the excitement refracted through the lenses of his grey-framed glasses after an introductory goalless draw.
White Hart Lane may have an impending appointment with a wrecking ball, but it remains one of the most engaging, atmospheric stadiums in English football. It is a place of leaders and legends, ghosts and gremlins.
Liverpool’s travelling fans sensed the significance of the occasion, their songs of homage breaking over the steeply-tiered seating like waves stirred by autumnal wind. A banner proclaimed “We Believe.” A German tricolour inscribed with the legend “Mein Heid”, literally translated as “My Lord”, was used in genuflection.
Klopp had no intention of getting carried away, since common sense informs him he must tread warily between romance and realism. Yet he summed up the experience appropriately, in a style owed more to Jack Kerouac than Bill Shankly. “Not the worst place in the world to start” he mused. “It’s cool.”
He seemed surprised, but understandably gratified, to learn it was Liverpool’s first clean sheet in nine games. Tottenham came closest to winning through a Dele Alli effort, blocked on the line by Mamadou Sakho.
Liverpool set a ferocious pace in the first 20 minutes, which were in effect a collective wind sprint, and should have taken the lead when Divock Origi headed against the crossbar. Spurs were resilient and intermittently dominant after that, and the draw was a fair result.
Klopp’s managerial principles impose system over the individual. Gegenpressing requires players of exceptional durability and formidable lung capacity to sacrifice themselves for the cause.
The sight of Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho closing down opponents with unrecognisable ferocity confirmed they had received the memo. Emre Can, employed in left-sided midfield, ran himself into the ground, so that he resembled an exhausted novice London Marathon runner, stumbling down the Mall.
Though unexpectedly sensitive to references to “full throttle football” Klopp did not lose his air of amiability. He will recognise the logic of suggestions that, at the moment, Spurs have more players suited to carrying out his orders.
This is no coincidence since Mauricio Pochettino is, in his second season at Spurs, emulating his achievement at Southampton in building an urgent, supremely fit team. He has much in common with Klopp, from body language to his faith in incremental progress.
Liverpool’s next five league games – home games against Southampton, Crystal Palace and Swansea punctuated by trips to Chelsea and Manchester City – will be testing. Inevitably, Pochettino was pressed to impose a timetable on Liverpool’s improvement.
He was understandably circumspect. “Maybe I’ll tell him,” he said with a wry smile. “You need to be really inside a club, playing and training, to discover the capacity to adapt to this style. In Southampton it happened quickly. Here was different pressure, different players.”
Since he has no body of work in the Premier League to lean upon, Klopp will initially be judged on superficialities. Though he seemed unhurried and unworried by the photographers in front of his touchline seat, he exhaled and knotted his fingers nervously behind his back.
He had spoken of repaying trust, dealing with pressure and opportunity, and permitted himself a lingering look at Liverpool fans who had found their voice to his right.
He flinched when Origi headed against the bar after Can had flicked on a corner, and bounced on his heels as the ball was scrambled clear. His body language was open and urgent as he punched the air in celebration of Simon Mignolet’s superb save from substitute Clinton Njie.
Liverpool’s keeper lacked stature and seemed consistently vulnerable under Brendan Rodgers, but his elasticity, in saving again from Harry Kane was impeccably timed.
Klopp was not drawn deeply into the injury problems afflicting his forwards, which gave Origi his first Premier League start. He reasoned “it doesn’t make sense” to “think about players I don’t have” but hopes Daniel Sturridge’s latest injury is a short term handicap.
Sensible judgement needs to be reserved for six months, rather than his first six matches. For now, he could afford to hug players and staff. He applauded the fans but left without a backward glance en route to the dressing room.
His warmth is unforced, but the lessons of his emergence in the Bundesliga are clear: when he has adapted to the rituals and rhythms of his new environment he will be ruthless and remorseless.
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