3 Things We Learnt From Tottenham 2-2 Liverpool

 1) VAR is sh*t

There were some big decisions that went against Jurgen Klopp and his men tonight. First, in the 20th minute of the game, Kane went sliding into Andy Roberston, catching him on his ankle. Robertson was lucky as he was already in the air and luckily for him, he didn't feel the full effect of the challenge. Had his foot been on the ground, it probably would have led to a broken leg. Not only did match referee Paul Tierney not show a red card but also VAR didn't ask him to go to the monitor for a outfield review as they did in the 2nd half for Roberston's challenge on Royal. This could've proved to be a pivotal moment in the game if Spurs went down to 10 men after only 20 minutes. Second, shortly after, Jota was tripped in the box by a challenge by Royal from the back. He didn't seem to get any of the ball and clearly, took Jota out as he was about to shoot. Paul Tierney was a few yards away and he didn't give the penalty.  VAR, once again, didn't ask him to go and have a look at the monitor. This was also a huge moment in the game. Liverpool didn't lose the game but some bad referring and the inconsistency of VAR tilted the game in Tottenham's favour. 

2) PL debut for Tyler Morton

With Fabinho and Thiago out with Covid and Henderson with illness, Klopp was forced to field a makeshift midfield trio of Tyler Morton, James Milner and Naby Keita. Tyler Morton, making his PL debut, started the game as Liverpool's No. 6. It was an okayish performance from him as he was subbed off at the hour mark. He failed to provide the necessary cover and protection to the back four as Spurs counterattacked quite frequently, especially in the 1st half. It wasn't all his fault though as the senior pros around him left him too open. He kept things simple with his passing and contested his aerial duels with average precision. It wasn't the best debut he could've asked for but it was big night for him and he will learn a lot from this experience. 

3) Christmas came early for Man City

With Chelsea drawing against Wolves and Liverpool against Spurs, Man City have now established a 3 point lead at the top of table over Liverpool and a 6 point lead over 3rd placed Chelsea. They thumped Newcastle 4-0 earlier today and are picking up form right at the crunch moment of the season. Their record is also impeccable when they are top of the table at Christmas. As far as Liverpool are concerned, tonight was certainly a disappointing result but it could easily have been worse. Tottenham created a host of clear cut opportunities so much so that the game could've been sealed in the 1st half itself. However, Alisson's brilliance and some poor finishing from Spurs kept Liverpool in it. Despite this and despite being down to 10 men, Liverpool managed to cling on and get a point out of the game. Looking back at it, it was a fair result. Liverpool must now respond and make sure that they are right on Man City's tail so that they can capitalize if Pep Guardiola's men do slip-up.