Tottenham's
Anthony Gardner and Liverpool's Djibril Cisse
Tottenham's Anthony
Gardner and Liverpool's Djimi Traore Jermaine Jenas almost scores on his Spurs debut after hesitation
by Liverpool keeper Jose Reina
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 REDS HELD IN ENTERTAINING
CLASH
Liverpool earned what could turn out to be a vital point come the end of the season
as they produced a good performance in a thoroughly entertaining draw against a strong
Tottenham Hotspur side.
This was as good a game as you could wish to see for a 0-0 and the only mystery was
why there were no goals, but a combination of the woodwork, eagle eyed linesman and top
goalkeeping made sure it was a blank scoreline.
Make no mistake this was a good point and the Reds can be happy as well as maybe a
little disappointed they haven't won. As Rafael Benitez said after the game he always
wants three points and that is his only aim.
Benitez gave Peter Crouch his Premiership debut and he was paired up front in a
potential exciting partnership with Djibril Cisse. Both players came close to scoring and
Crouch had a goal disallowed in slightly controversial circumstances. Tottenham's new
striker Gregorz Rasiak also had a similar goal disallowed when an eagle eyed linesman
ruled that both corners had gone out of play before being headed into the net.
Liverpool certainly had the chances to win the game and John Arne Riise nearly
produced a candidate for goal of the season so early in the campaign when his fantastic
strike beat Spurs outstanding keeper Paul Robinson but not the woodwork. That was so
unlucky.
There were many reasons for Benitez to be positive after the game. Liverpool have
kept three Premiership games in a row and although they have only scored one goal they
still have two games in hand on their rivals.
Benitez said: "I always pick a team with the intention of winning the three
points and we could have won today with the opportunities we created. Riise was unlucky to
hit the cross bar and we had other opportunities, but we kept another clean sheet and we
are more consistent away now.
"I thought Crouch and Cisse did well together up front and were unlucky not to
score. Cisse makes runs while Crouch wins headers and holds the ball up. Crouch will help
us win balls we didn't win last season and he will improve the attack.
"Tottenham are a good team with a good squad and a good manager. They will be
hoping to make the top four like we do but we want to aim a lot higher than that."
Because the Reds have been playing competitive football since July it is sometimes
easy to forget that the trip to White Hart Lane was only Liverpool's third Premiership
game of the season.
With the chances they created they should have beaten Middlesbrough on the opening
day, a touch of class from Xabi Alonso saw off Sunderland and they were pretty unlucky not
to score at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham had their chances too but with Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia in
outstanding form the likes of the dangerous Jermaine Defoe couldn't find the net.
Liverpool stepped up the pace of the game in the second half and were driven by
Momo Sissoko who looks like a bargain signing for just 5 million by Benitez. The Mali
international came on in the second half and won yet more plaudits for a superb display.
He won tackles, took on players and probed for telling openings.
This was a good point for Liverpool and as Benitez has said many times last season
when Liverpool had lost an away game by the odd goal, it's important to get a point if you
can't get the win.
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