A hard-earned, robust, counterpunching 1-0 win against the team who put six past us last month? It’s just who we are, mate. It is of course classic Angeball to kick and hassle opponents into errors, to irritate and snarl in midfield, and to find a ruthless edge just when it seemed that the first leg of this Carabao Cup semi-final was beginning to turn Liverpool’s way following the introduction of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez after an hour of surprising ineptitude from the Premier League leaders.
This was a different Tottenham Hotspur from the one that collapsed against Arne Slot’s team 17 days ago. Implausibly, with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven still missing in central defence, there was snap and aggression from start to finish. There was Yves Bissouma, who walked a tightrope after an early booking, finding it within himself to dominate Liverpool’s midfield. There was Djed Spence filling in for Destiny Udogie and keeping Mohamed Salah quiet. And there was, perhaps only fleetingly, a sense that life remains in the Ange Postecoglou project, no matter how precarious it has felt for much of a trying campaign.
