Wednesday 11 February 2015 18:16, UK
Mario Balotelli had the final say at Anfield with a late winner as Liverpool moved to within a point of Tottenham.
Lazar Markovic had put Liverpool ahead with a shot Hugo Lloris ought to have saved and while Harry Kane equalised, Steven Gerrard restored the lead from the spot after the break following Danny Rose’s foul on the returning Daniel Sturridge.
Mousa Dembele looked to have grabbed a point when he converted Kane’s centre before Balotelli's big moment. Is this a turning point for him and his team in the race for the Champions League places? We pick out five of the talking points from an entertaining night at Anfield…
On a night when the build-up had been dominated by talk of two English strikers facing off against each other, it was appropriately contrary that Balotelli should steal the show with a belated entry into this season's Premier League scoring charts. After almost 13 hours of league action for Liverpool and missing seven clear chances without scoring (a Premier League high, according to Opta), Balotelli stepped off the bench to finally find the net. It was a winner too, latching onto Adam Lallana’s low cross to stab the ball home. The celebration was typically understated and while many continue to be baffled by what motivates the Italian, this was a reminder of what the Reds thought they were buying.
If Balotelli’s effort remains studiously indifferent, Jordon Ibe’s joy is rather more conspicuous and his role in the winning goal should not be forgotten. The 19-year-old slipped the ball through to Lallana down the right channel and it was hardly a surprise that he should have such an influence after a game in which he had tested opposing full-back Rose throughout. Having made 50 high-intensity runs, he is already proving a real outlet for Liverpool and had more touches than any of his team-mates on the night as well as the most passes in the Spurs half. Markovic, for all his quality, is not a natural wing-back and Ibe helps make sense of this Liverpool formation.
Another reason for Brendan Rodgers to be encouraged was the return of Sturridge. The England international looked busy and bright from the start and Spurs really struggled with his pace – Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason each putting him away with wayward back-passes. There was a fierce shot, a role in Markovic’s opener and the induced trip by Rose for Gerrard’s penalty too. The ovation upon his substitution was well earned. The only thing lacking was a goal and that could not be said of Kane. While the 21-year-old striker’s finish owed a little to fortune, that’s 23 for the season now. This extraordinary story shows no sign of stopping just yet.
Spurs never lacked belief – twice coming from behind to level as they threatened to add to their 15 points picked up from losing positions. But after the celebrations that came with north London derby victory at the weekend, this was a reminder that Mauricio Pochettino’s team remain a work in progress. They worked hard and played with confidence but it was an unconvincing performance that included three errors leading to shots – more than they have made in the rest of the season combined on their travels. Pochettino will, of course, trust his young team to learn from their mistakes but this was sloppy and he will welcome their nine-day gap before facing Fiorentina.
Liverpool’s win means there are now five teams from third to seventh in the table separated by only three points going into Wednesday’s fixtures and the Reds are back in the thick of the race to return to the Champions League next season. Rodgers’ men are on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Premier League now – the longest of any team in the division – and if they can come close to replicating their run of form from last spring then the momentum could carry them close to those heady heights again. Flaws remain, but as Tottenham highlighted at Anfield, that could be said of many of their rivals too. The race for the top four is heating up.
