Ashley Young said that Liverpool were particularly ‘pathetic’ in one aspect of their performance against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
The Reds led 1-0 for more than 70 minutes after a trademark free kick from Dominik Szoboszlai, but yet again they threw away points in the closing stages as Richarlison plundered an equaliser on the stroke of stoppage time to secure a point that Spurs deserved.
A seething Jamie Carragher described the draw as an ‘absolute disaster‘ for his former club as they spurned yet another opportunity to steal a march on their rivals for Champions League qualification, and his Sky Sports colleague in studio was equally scathing of Arne Slot’s side.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the match, Young blasted the naivety of Liverpool for not knowing how to break down a deep-lying defence and make the most of counterattacking opportunities, and he was especially critical of their final ball in the attacking third.
The 40-year-old said: “Especially at Anfield, Liverpool come across teams who come and sit in a low block, so they must work on that and know, ‘Right, teams are gonna sit in a low block; we’re gonna play counterattacking football. The final pass has gotta be a good one.’
“There was far too many out there from whom the final pass was pathetic. It was terrible, and you can’t keep doing that. When you get those big opportunities when Spurs were pushing forward to try and get a goal and there were spaces all over the pitch, there was so many of them who kept giving it away.”
Young isn’t incorrect in stating that Liverpool’s final ball was repeatedly substandard against Spurs today, and it ultimately cost them two points against a team who arrived at Anfield in horrific form.
In the second half especially, the Reds were guilty of holding onto the ball for too long, taking the wrong option in the final third, or putting too much or not enough purchase on a pass which could’ve opened up the visitors’ defence.
Two instances in particular stand out – Jeremie Frimpong put in a dangerous cross shortly after half-time that nobody got on the end of, and later Mo Salah had a fine chance to pick out Hugo Ekitike but put slightly too much on the ball and the opportunity came to nothing.
The two attacking substitutes had shots of their own with which they’ll have been disappointed as well, and all of those missed chances came back to haunt Liverpool as they failed to put Spurs away, although the away side deserve credit for the threat they offered throughout the game.
Put simply, if the Reds create the same number of opportunities against Galatasaray on Wednesday, they need to end the night with more than just one goal. If they don’t, they may well be out of the Champions League in little more than 72 hours’ time, and their attempts at qualifying for next season’s edition are floundering.
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