By MATT BARLOW
If Gareth Bale’s head was in a spin after this then he wasn’t alone. It was one of those thrilling games of reckless football which are fast becoming the trademark of Andre Villas-Boas.
Perhaps we should have seen it coming. After all, it was Villas-Boas against Brendan Rodgers, a million passes and not many tackles.
And it all revolved around Bale. He started brilliantly, made Tottenham’s first for Aaron Lennon, scored their second himself, pulled one back for Liverpool with an own goal and was booked for diving.
He ended the night in disagreement with Jose Enrique and was embraced by his manager as he dragged his tired body from the pitch after clinging on for victory.
Spurs hauled themselves up to fifth in the Barclays Premier League and the visitors went home only four points above the relegation zone and aggrieved at being unable to salvage anything from the game.
There was the usual complaint that they deserved a penalty or two but, having given up a two-goal start, they were unable to convert their fluency and spirit into goals or points. ‘We dominated the game,’ said Rodgers. ‘You’ll struggle to come here and play as well as that and not get anything. Our tempo and rhythm were relentless. We would have been disappointed with one point.
‘I thought we should have had two penalties. We haven’t had one penalty all season. I don’t know what the players have to do.’
Liverpool fought back well but they started poorly. Two years ago on the same date, Lennon completed the scoring as Spurs beat Liverpool 2-1 at White Hart Lane. Last night he pounced in the seventh-minute, tapping into an open goal after an electrifying Bale burst down the left.
The Wales winger looked in one of those moods where he is an irresistible force but Tottenham fear this purple patch of form might rekindle interest from Europe’s elite.
Villas-Boas said: ‘We are absolutely amazed at what he can do for us. We have no doubt he can become a top player in the future. He is on to a great career. Tottenham want to keep him as long as we can but we understand players like this have propositions and have a market which is the nature of the game.’
Even before Lennon’s goal, Bale had unleashed a free-kick which was punched unconvincingly away by Pepe Reina and lashed a shot wide across goal after Jermain Defoe had stolen the ball from Steven Gerrard in midfield.
Liverpool retaliated. Hugo Lloris saved from Suarez before a 60 seconds Jordan Henderson will want to forget.
He squeezed a shot wide under pressure from Walker with an open goal in front of him and seconds later was back in defence and penalised for a foul on Clint Dempsey, which Rodgers claimed was a dive.
‘Dempsey falls over without any contact,’ he said. ‘Jordan’s worked really hard to get back.’
Bale stepped up and the ball clipped the head of Henderson in the wall and wrong-footed Reina.
This breathless opening passage set the pattern for a wonderfully fluent game. Tottenham controlled the first half-hour but all the time looked vulnerable and disorganised in defence.
Liverpool gathered momentum and Martin Skrtel checked Bale with a cynical foul before half-time. The first of the penalty appeals came when Gerrard and Suarez linked up on the edge of the penalty area and the England skipper’s route to goal was foiled by a sliding challenge from behind.
Moussa Dembele emerged with the ball but there was some debate about whether he had fouled Gerrard before winning it. There was no debate where Rodgers was concerned. He called it ‘assault’.
Liverpool dominated the second half but Suarez could not find the net and no-one else seemed likely to contribute until Lennon slammed a clearance into Bale’s face and it rebounded into the net.
Tottenham hung on for the last 10 minutes, surviving another penalty appeal for a challenge by William Gallas on Suarez.
‘It was an important result,’ said Villas-Boas. ‘It puts us in an extremely good position if we can maintain this momentum.’
