Spurs 2-1 Liverpool

White Hart Lane was one of two places where we lost last season- the other was the Riverside. Going by our pre-season form, I had doubts over whether we could take all three points in our opening fixture, like Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United had done.

It was a very, very disappointing performance from Liverpool. We lacked penetration going forward, and hardly tested Gomes. Babel and Kuyt were anonymous, and so was Lucas. Torres looked lonely upfront, and our best players on the day were Reina and Johnson. The best chances of the game went to Spurs, although one has to say that Robbie Keane probably still has some affection for us- he headed straight at Reina from six yards out, and then failed to finish a good Spurs move. For all their four strikers, both of Tottenham’s goals came from defenders. And to be honest, they deserved their victory thoroughly. Wilson Palacios and Luka Modric did very well in midfield, especially the former.

Only in one out of ten times would an Assou Ekotto shot like that evade everybody and go in. Unfortunately for us, it was such a day, and BAE scored his first league goal for Spurs.

Glen Johnson showed he was worth some part of the £18m we paid for him, by surging into the box and earning a penalty. Gerrard converted the penalty, but Spurs again took the lead through Bassong, who headed home from a Luka Modric free kick after Carragher had held back Defoe. Both Carra and Johnson must shoulder the blame for allowing Bassong to score- the marking was non existent.

Our lack of cover for the first team could very easily cost us the title. We don’t have two proper players for each position, and should Gerrard or Torres, or god forbid both get injured, this squad doesn’t look like a title challenging squad.

Yes, Dowd ought to have given a penalty when Voronin was fouled, but I think the handball decision was fair enough ( intent being the keyword here).

Where will we finish this season? Give me your comments <a href=”http://www.goalpost.tv/2009/08/09/football-fans/your-predictions-for-liverpool-in-the-premier-league-this-season.htm”> here </a>.