Liverpool established themselves back among the elite of English soccer with a
streamlined display on a telling afternoon at Anfield.
Gerard Houllier's men really looked the part as they climbed above an
exhausted Leeds side and into second place.
Now they have only Manchester United to worry about - although that, clearly,
will be part of Houllier's future.
A superb goal from Patrik Berger and Michael Owen's fourth strike in three
outings, set up by Emile Heskey, left Tottenham boss George Graham listening to
cries for his head from sections of the travelling support.
Liverpool were without the rested Steven Gerrard, with Danny Murphy taking his
place, as they fought to protect a clutch of impressive statistics.
They are now on an 11-match unbeaten run and have suffered just two league
defeats in their last 24 matches.
Liverpool were in the mood for revenge because that last defeat came at White
Hart Lane in January, while Spurs achieved a Worthington Cup victory at Anfield
last season when the Merseysiders were at their lowest ebb.
How times have changed. Spurs, leaving out Willem Korsten from the side that
lost at home to Middlesbrough on Monday and bringing in Stephen Clemence, were
confronted with a new-look side brimming with potential.
But the early stuff was mundane. Murphy provided the only shot of any
consequence in the opening 20 minutes as both sides tested each other out, while
Chris Perry and Sol Campbell appeared to be providing an effective marking job
on Heskey and Owen.
Liverpool's passing was excellent, but they were initially kept at bay by a
disciplined Spurs midfield.
The first sign of a breakthrough came after 24 minutes when Perry was unlucky
to be booked for a block on Owen when he could not get out of the way.
Spurs were stung by Berger's free-kick which deflected narrowly wide, and
Ginola's neat touch put Darren Anderton in for a cross-shot that Dominic Matteo
hacked clear.
But when the breakthrough came, it was a special moment. Hamann found David
Thompson on the right, and his instant pass found Berger in space.
The Czech swept across the face of the box before turning to explode a 25-yard
shot that crashed past Ian Walker.
Steffen Freund got himself booked for dissent when he pointed out to referee
Stephen Lodge that Liverpool's wall was six yards, rather than 10, back from a
free-kick. Murphy was next into the book for clattering Freund after 39 minutes.
Liverpool retained possession, and worked themselves into good positions with
patience. And it could have been two just before the break when Heskey's flicked
header found Owen, his return ball was collected by the £11million striker, who
beat two men before hitting the bar with a shot from 20 yards.
The pattern was much the same after the break and, on 54 minutes, Berger
neatly lined up Thompson for a fierce shot from the edge of the box that needed
all Walker's attention to pull down.
Thompson should have scored a minute later, this time when Berger clipped him
clear. A suspicion of offside caused delay from the Liverpool man, uncertainty
from Spurs' defenders and a furious Graham bursting onto the line.
There was no flag or whistle and somehow Thompson managed to half-hit two
efforts before Walker smothered the danger.
But after 61 minutes Liverpool claimed their second goal. Owen turned Perry on
the edge of the box and slipped the ball to Heskey.
The big striker surged into the box and saw his first shot blocked by Walker
before neatly slipping the ball square for the unmarked Owen to stab home from a
couple of yards.
From then on it was little more than an exercise for Liverpool, passing the
ball around with ease. Spurs had gone from being functional to just bland,
boring and outplayed.
With 14 minutes left the crowd witnessed maybe a crucial change in Spurs'
future, with the two youngsters from Peterborough - Simon Davies and Matthew
Etherington - taking over from Ginola and Clemence for their debuts.
But the Spurs fans continued to chant 'Graham out' as Liverpool cruised to
another victory.
With the game comfortably won, Houllier was able to send on his substitutes -
Titi Camara, Vladimir Smicer and Vegard Heggem - much the same way that Sir Alex
Ferguson does for United.
Teams
Liverpool: Westerveld, Carragher, Henchoz, Hyypia, Matteo,
Berger, Hamann, Murphy (Heggem 82), Thompson (Smicer 72),
Owen (Camara 87), Heskey.
Subs Not Used: Song, Nielsen.
Booked: Murphy.
Goals: Berger 34, Owen 61.
Tottenham: Walker, Carr, Perry, Campbell, Taricco, Iversen,
Anderton, Freund, Clemence (Etherington 77), Armstrong,
Ginola (Davies 77).
Subs Not Used: Korsten, Baardsen, Young.
Booked: Perry, Freund, Taricco.
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