There was a carnival atmosphere today inside the M&T Bank Stadium as 42,723 people turned up to see Liverpool and Tottenham play out a 0-0 draw. The game was played at a leisurely pace due to the 95 degree heat and players still returning to fitness after their summer break.
Liverpool entered today’s game with their third manager in as many years, with the arrival of Brendan Rodgers. Since January 2009 and the infamous “Rafa rant” at Alex Ferguson, Liverpool have been in decline in the EPL, finishing out of the top 4 for the last 3 seasons. Both current England manager Roy Hodgson and Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish have tried to reverse their fortunes to no avail.
Over the summer Liverpool took the bold step of appointing a manager from a smaller Premiership club, something that the top teams seldom do. Rodgers’ arrival does not bring instant belief that they will win the Premiership, but what he does bring is a new style of attacking football. He likes his team to play a possession style of play with pressing high up the pitch, much like the current Barcalona side.
In today’s game the pressing football from Liverpool was immediately evident from the start with the players not hitting long passes from the back, choosing to keep possession and pass back through the defense. This style of play faded as the game continued with Rodgers the more animated manager on the sidelines.
Tottenham were dangerous throughout the game with their wide pace men of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon a constant threat, though they were missing a schema in the middle to thread the final ball to them. If they can’t keep hold of Luka Modric this season, they better be scouting for his replacement.
Also on show today was Gylfi Sigurdsson, playing against his old manager and the club that tried to buy him. He played just behind Harry Kane for Tottenham and showed good movement and found space attacking just behind the striker. It seemed Liverpool was missing a player in the center of midfield with his movement and energy.
After only the 3rd game that Rogers has presided over, I wouldn’t say that they are at Barcelona’s level, but it is very evident Liverpool’s new style is keeping it on the ground, possession football. It will be interesting to see if he has the quality of player currently at Liverpool to play in this style, but at the beginning of last season no one would have picked Swansea to play this way.
