Liverpool got their first Premier League win of 2017 as a brilliant first half performance saw them beat Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield. The Reds had fallen out of the race for the title after a poor January but Sadio Mane showed why the Merseyside club wanted him back from the African Cup of Nations early.
A brace from the former Southampton man was coupled with a really poor performance by the away side which would have worried Mauricio Pochettino. The win certainly took the pressure off the Reds as they look to mount a challenge for the top four while Spurs will be now looking behind their shoulders as they let go of a chance to close the gap on Chelsea.
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We look back at the game and share the player ratings for both sides.
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet – 7.5/10
There was speculation that the Belgian would be dropped for Loris Karius but Mignolet did well in the game and kept a low drive from Son Heung-Min out in the first half. Mignolet wasn’t really troubled all that much in the second half either as he recorded a rare clean sheet.
Nathaniel Clyne – 7.5/10
Clyne was his usual self in defence and attack for Liverpool. The former Saint joined in the attack in the first half but retreated back when needed to keep Tottenham out of the game.
Joel Matip – 7/10
Matip still looks a little rusty after coming back to the Liverpool team. While he did do well in keeping Harry Kane on a leash, there were a couple of mistakes which didn’t prove to be too costly for him and the team.
Lucas Leiva – 8/10
Liverpool fans might have broken a sweat seeing the Brazilian starting as a centre-back but Lucas was excellent in the game and dealt with everything that was thrown at him. Dejan Lovren wasn’t really all that missed but there is some concern as Lucas was substituted due to injury.
James Milner – 7.5/10
The Englishman was his energetic self as the left-back and joined Philippe Coutinho in the attack down the left flank for the Reds. He didn’t really have a lot of trouble dealing with Christian Eriksen either in the second half and had a pretty comfortable night.
Jordan Henderson – 7/10
The Liverpool captain was like a metronome in the first half as he kept on pinging the passes around and didn’t give the visitors a minute to rest. His second half performance was a little more restraint, though, and he was involved in a few squabbles with the likes of Victor Wanyama and Dele Alli, but he had a decent night.
Georginio Wijnaldum – 7/10
The Dutch midfielder provided a brilliant ball to Sadio Mane for the first goal of the game and he certainly gave Liverpool more in the midfield that the more defensive minded Emre Can.
Adam Lallana – 8/10
Adam Lallana might not have gotten a goal but the Englishman was everywhere and certainly up for the battle. Passing, running and tackling any player that wore white, Lallana epitomised what a player in Klopp’s team does and boy did he do it well.
Sadio Mane – 9/10
Mane was a beast in the first half and should have had a hat-trick before the 30-minute mark. He had two brilliant goals and was a thorn in the Spurs defence. Liverpool will expect the Senegalese to keep playing at this level for the remainder of the season as they look for a top four finish.
Philippe Coutinho – 7/10
The Brazilian looked a little rusty at the start but had a good chance to score in the first half but his effort was well blocked by Toby Alderweireld. He was wide again in the second half but the damage was already done by the Reds in the first forty-five.
Roberto Firmino – 7/10
Roberto Firmino was another player that worked his socks off for Liverpool at the tip of the attack. The Brazilian might not have scored but he too, like Lallana, made it difficult for the Tottenham players to build something from the back.
Substitutes
Emre Can – 6/10
The German provided Liverpool with a battling presence in the second half as they looked to close out Tottenham.
Ragnar Klavan – 7/10
Klavan got a few minutes under his belt as Liverpool ensured they kept a clean sheet.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – NA
The young right-back was brought on during injury time and didn’t have any time to do much in the game.
Tottenham Hotspur
Hugo Lloris – 7/10
The French keeper had a tough time of it at the back and did pretty well to keep the score down to 2-0. Lloris kept out a couple of great efforts from Mane and didn’t look comfortable with his back four as well.
Kyle Walker – 6.5/10
Walker actually didn’t have the worst game as he kept Coutinho somewhat quiet in the game but the rest of the defence for Tottenham certainly had a poor outing as well.
Toby Alderweireld – 6.5/10
Alderweireld didn’t look all that great at the back with his regular partner Jan Vertonghen missing from the lineup. He did well to block Coutinho’s effort in the first half but ended the night by picking up a booking.
Eric Dier – 5/10
Dier had a couple of botched clearances at the start and then gave the ball away too easily for the second goal conceded. The Englishman does not look comfortable playing as a centre-back and this certainly must be a concern for Pochettino.
Ben Davies – 4.5/10
Davies struggled to keep an eye Mane and it was a surprise that Pochettino didn’t take him off at half-time as the defender was ripped to shreds. He did recover in the second half but the damage was already done.
Victor Wanyama – 6.5/10
The Kenyan couldn’t really break up the Liverpool play in the midfield and was involved in a couple of off the ball incidents as Tottenham lost the plot in the second half at Anfield.
Mousa Dembele – 6.5/10
Dembele would have fancied his chances against Henderson and co. in midfield but Liverpool tore right past him. The Belgian had a night to forget and couldn’t play his natural game for the away side.
Son Heung-Min – 7/10
After a quiet first quarter, Son had a great chance to score but was denied by a great save from the Liverpool keeper. The South Korean was his usual hard working self for Tottenham but there were many others that completely skipped out on the game for the side from London.
Dele Alli – 6/10
Alli did have a free header which was cleared off the line in the first half but that was as good as it got for the Englishman. The youngster looked off the pace for Tottenham and with him not playing all that well, there barely was a good attack from the away side.
Christian Eriksen – 6.5/10
The Danish international had one good chance in the first half from a free-kick but he failed to test Mignolet. Eriksen didn’t really do much in the game in terms of attacking and he was substituted in the second half for Harry Winks.
Harry Kane – 5.5/10
Kane was barely in the game and was booked for a late challenge on Clyne, which perfectly summed up his performance on the night.
Substitutes
Harry Winks – 6/10
The young midfielder was booked as soon as he came on but he couldn’t really do much to turn things around for the side.
Moussa Sissoko – 6/10
This was a chance for Sissoko to show what he can do on the pitch for a side that needed an attacking spark but he too failed to turn up for Spurs.
Vincent Janssen – 5/10
Janssen came on late to replace Son but couldn’t get into the game and didn’t threaten the Liverpool defence.
