Injury time, Anfield Road end, penalty kick. But while seven days ago it nudged Rafael Benitez and Liverpool towards the precipice, last night the same scenario gave confirmation they are not willing to surrender their campaign without a fight.
Last week’s FA Cup exit to Reading, followed by the dramatic but damaging draw with Stoke City, had prompted the Anfield manager to admit their clash with Tottenham Hotspur represented a make-or-break encounter in his team’s season.
Given the increased pressure under which the beleaguered Spaniard has found himself lately, he could easily have been referring to his own position.
So the relief was tangible throughout Anfield when Dirk Kuyt rammed home from the spot at the second time of asking to put the seal on a deserved victory on a compelling evening.
Kuyt had earlier given Liverpool the platform of a sixth-minute goal before Benitez’s side dug deep to withstand a Tottenham revival to move within a point of their fourth-placed visitors and a Champions League qualification berth.
Games between these teams have often been a delight for the purists, but this was not a night for free-flowing, fancy football.
Even in January, both teams knew the significance of the encounter. As at Stoke City on Saturday, Liverpool, missing so many first-team regulars, showed themselves ready for a fight.
And quite simply, they wanted it more.
From the moment stand-in captain Jamie Carragher called for a pre-match huddle, the sense of defiance was evident both on the pitch and the stands. It was a stark contrast to seven days previous.
Tottenham were harried and harassed into submission.
Kuyt, as well as his two goals, didn’t give the visiting defenders a moment’s rest while Javier Mascherano revelled in the midfield scrap.
Players such as Philipp Degen and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, cited by Benitez’s critics as beacons of Liverpool’s mediocrity, put in a shift, the latter outstanding alongside centre-back partner Martin Skrtel in negating the threat of Jermaine Defoe, Peter Crouch and later Robbie Keane.
All, though, were eclipsed by Carragher who, leading by example, put his heart and soul into every challenge while cajoling and urging his team-mates into action.
True, Tottenham could reflect on the decision to disallow what would have been an equaliser for Defoe shortly after half-time. But Liverpool’s approach meant they deserved any fortune on the evening.
Benitez’s side have now won four of their last six Premier League games and are the form team in the battle for fourth place. Manchester City and Aston Villa will have duly noted this result and Liverpool’s renewed appetite.
Of course, it was defeat at White Hart Lane on the opening weekend of the season that set the tone for a difficult campaign for Liverpool, and one of greater encouragement for the Londoners.
Yet history favoured the home side last night. Tottenham now haven’t won at Anfield in the league since 1993, which was also their last win at a ‘big four’ ground – a startling run of 66 games. On top of that, Harry Redknapp has now failed to win here in 13 attempts as manager.
Having been accused of defensive team selection at Stoke, Benitez brought both Alberto Aquilani and the fit-again Albert Riera into the starting line-up, and was duly rewarded.
Riera, making his first appearance since the goalless draw at Blackburn Rovers six weeks earlier, had become something of a forgotten man among all the high-profile absentees, but last night provided a genuine outlet and wing play that Liverpool have been lacking in recent weeks.
Benitez’s protective stance on Aquilani may polarise opinion, but the manager will not be swayed from gradually working the Italian back to full fitness, no matter how pressing Liverpool’s circumstance. And it took only six minutes for his decision to start with the £20million man to pay dividends, with Aquilani playing a significant role in a surprisingly straightforward opening goal.
It was real route-one stuff. Pepe Reina, having grabbed a dangerous Gareth Bale cross at the third attempt, swiftly pumped the ball upfield to the edge of the visiting penalty area towards Aquilani. The Italian then rolled a short pass into the path of Kuyt to finish first time into the bottom corner beyond Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.
The first half was a real war of attrition that, while low on quality, was high on incident and tension. Carragher’s trademark tenacity won a corner in first-half injury time from which Benitez’s side should have doubled their advantage. After Gomes flapped at Reina’s delivery, Kuyt’s diving header was cleared off the line by Bale before Skrtel blasted the rebound wastefully over.
Moments later, Reina was pressed into his first real save of the match, diving low to his left to beat out a Luka Modric shot after a Wilson Palacios pass had given the Croatian rare space inside the Liverpool penalty area.
Tottenham thought they had equalised shortly when Defoe dispossessed Reina before firing into the empty net, only for referee Howard Webb and his assistants to decide the striker had been offside in an earlier passage of play.
Liverpool came close again on 51 minutes when Carragher sent over a deep cross from the right and Riera, rising above Vedran Corluka, smacked a header against the bar.
With the game opening up, Defoe should have passed to the unmarked Crouch in the penalty area, while Reina produced a resourceful stop to paw behind a swerving Jermaine Jenas drive.
As Tottenham cranked up the pressure, Liverpool could ill afford Degen and Kuyt refusing to pull the trigger between them after a break sparked by determined play from Riera.
Kuyt then blazed over on the volley at the far post after Degen flicked on Aquilani’s free-kick, and Riera shot narrowly over from 25 yards.
The final five minutes were frantic. Substitute David Ngog brought a fine save from Gomes before Kuyt missed another glorious opportunity, firing over from four yards after being found by Ngog’s cushioned header.
Still the chances came, Kyrgiakos beating the Tottenham offside trap to latch on to Skrtel’s hooked pass but thrashed straight at Gomes.
But Kuyt finally made the game safe when he netted a twice-taken penalty in injury time after Ngog was felled by Tottenham substitute Sebastian Bassong. The battle is now on.
Last week’s FA Cup exit to Reading, followed by the dramatic but damaging draw with Stoke City, had prompted the Anfield manager to admit their clash with Tottenham Hotspur represented a make-or-break encounter in his team’s season.
Given the increased pressure under which the beleaguered Spaniard has found himself lately, he could easily have been referring to his own position.
So the relief was tangible throughout Anfield when Dirk Kuyt rammed home from the spot at the second time of asking to put the seal on a deserved victory on a compelling evening.
Kuyt had earlier given Liverpool the platform of a sixth-minute goal before Benitez’s side dug deep to withstand a Tottenham revival to move within a point of their fourth-placed visitors and a Champions League qualification berth.
Games between these teams have often been a delight for the purists, but this was not a night for free-flowing, fancy football.
Even in January, both teams knew the significance of the encounter. As at Stoke City on Saturday, Liverpool, missing so many first-team regulars, showed themselves ready for a fight.
And quite simply, they wanted it more.
From the moment stand-in captain Jamie Carragher called for a pre-match huddle, the sense of defiance was evident both on the pitch and the stands. It was a stark contrast to seven days previous.
Tottenham were harried and harassed into submission.
Kuyt, as well as his two goals, didn’t give the visiting defenders a moment’s rest while Javier Mascherano revelled in the midfield scrap.
Players such as Philipp Degen and Sotirios Kyrgiakos, cited by Benitez’s critics as beacons of Liverpool’s mediocrity, put in a shift, the latter outstanding alongside centre-back partner Martin Skrtel in negating the threat of Jermaine Defoe, Peter Crouch and later Robbie Keane.
All, though, were eclipsed by Carragher who, leading by example, put his heart and soul into every challenge while cajoling and urging his team-mates into action.
True, Tottenham could reflect on the decision to disallow what would have been an equaliser for Defoe shortly after half-time. But Liverpool’s approach meant they deserved any fortune on the evening.
Benitez’s side have now won four of their last six Premier League games and are the form team in the battle for fourth place. Manchester City and Aston Villa will have duly noted this result and Liverpool’s renewed appetite.
Of course, it was defeat at White Hart Lane on the opening weekend of the season that set the tone for a difficult campaign for Liverpool, and one of greater encouragement for the Londoners.
Yet history favoured the home side last night. Tottenham now haven’t won at Anfield in the league since 1993, which was also their last win at a ‘big four’ ground – a startling run of 66 games. On top of that, Harry Redknapp has now failed to win here in 13 attempts as manager.
Having been accused of defensive team selection at Stoke, Benitez brought both Alberto Aquilani and the fit-again Albert Riera into the starting line-up, and was duly rewarded.
Riera, making his first appearance since the goalless draw at Blackburn Rovers six weeks earlier, had become something of a forgotten man among all the high-profile absentees, but last night provided a genuine outlet and wing play that Liverpool have been lacking in recent weeks.
Benitez’s protective stance on Aquilani may polarise opinion, but the manager will not be swayed from gradually working the Italian back to full fitness, no matter how pressing Liverpool’s circumstance. And it took only six minutes for his decision to start with the £20million man to pay dividends, with Aquilani playing a significant role in a surprisingly straightforward opening goal.
It was real route-one stuff. Pepe Reina, having grabbed a dangerous Gareth Bale cross at the third attempt, swiftly pumped the ball upfield to the edge of the visiting penalty area towards Aquilani. The Italian then rolled a short pass into the path of Kuyt to finish first time into the bottom corner beyond Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.
The first half was a real war of attrition that, while low on quality, was high on incident and tension. Carragher’s trademark tenacity won a corner in first-half injury time from which Benitez’s side should have doubled their advantage. After Gomes flapped at Reina’s delivery, Kuyt’s diving header was cleared off the line by Bale before Skrtel blasted the rebound wastefully over.
Moments later, Reina was pressed into his first real save of the match, diving low to his left to beat out a Luka Modric shot after a Wilson Palacios pass had given the Croatian rare space inside the Liverpool penalty area.
Tottenham thought they had equalised shortly when Defoe dispossessed Reina before firing into the empty net, only for referee Howard Webb and his assistants to decide the striker had been offside in an earlier passage of play.
Liverpool came close again on 51 minutes when Carragher sent over a deep cross from the right and Riera, rising above Vedran Corluka, smacked a header against the bar.
With the game opening up, Defoe should have passed to the unmarked Crouch in the penalty area, while Reina produced a resourceful stop to paw behind a swerving Jermaine Jenas drive.
As Tottenham cranked up the pressure, Liverpool could ill afford Degen and Kuyt refusing to pull the trigger between them after a break sparked by determined play from Riera.
Kuyt then blazed over on the volley at the far post after Degen flicked on Aquilani’s free-kick, and Riera shot narrowly over from 25 yards.
The final five minutes were frantic. Substitute David Ngog brought a fine save from Gomes before Kuyt missed another glorious opportunity, firing over from four yards after being found by Ngog’s cushioned header.
Still the chances came, Kyrgiakos beating the Tottenham offside trap to latch on to Skrtel’s hooked pass but thrashed straight at Gomes.
But Kuyt finally made the game safe when he netted a twice-taken penalty in injury time after Ngog was felled by Tottenham substitute Sebastian Bassong. The battle is now on.
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