Jurgen Klopp had to settle for a point in his first Barclays Premier League match as Liverpool earned a 0-0 draw at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Liverpool’s Divock Origi, who started ahead of the injured Daniel Sturridge at White Hart Lane, headed a great chance against the crossbar from close range in the early stages after a strong start from Klopp’s side, and that proved to be the best opportunity of the match.
After surviving that early scare, Spurs had the better chances with Clinton N’Jie forcing Simon Mignolet into a diving save and Harry Kane also testing the Liverpool goalkeeper before the break.
Klopp will be encouraged by a spirited display from his new team, but Liverpool have won one of their last 10 away BPL fixtures and remain one point adrift of Spurs, who have still not tasted defeat since the opening day of the season.
Spurs were without Eric Dier through suspension, but Danny Rose returned from injury at left-back. Origi made his first league start for Liverpool, with Christian Benteke, Danny Ings and Sturridge all ruled out.
Klopp was almost handed a dream start after 10 minutes when James Milner’s corner was flicked on by Emre Can and headed against the crossbar by Origi from inside the six-yard box.
Spurs had struggled going forward in the early stages but almost took the lead when N’Jie, who had come on for the injured Nacer Chadli, picked up Kane’s pass after Adam Lallana had given away possession. He produced a clever shot which forced Mignolet nto an excellent diving save that had Klopp applauding.
The hosts were moving into the ascendancy and when Martin Skrtel was unable to cut out Christian Eriksen’s pass, Kane had a shot parried by Mignolet, before Dele Alli’s follow-up effort was blocked by a diving Mamadou Sakho.
N’Jie was looking lively and his dipping shot was just over shortly before half-time.
Kyle Walker drove a long-range shot into the arms of Mignolet after the break, but the early stages of the second half did not produce many opportunities.
Referee Craig Pawson was unmoved when Lallana went down in the box under pressure from Alli.
Origi shot straight at Hugo Lloris from a tight angle after receiving a pass from Philippe Coutinho, but a goal did not look like coming in the second half.
Spurs almost grabbed a late winner when Eriksen’s weaving run set up Kane, but Mignolet was again equal to the England striker’s effort, before Can fired just wide at the other end as Klopp’s introduction to English football ended with a draw.
source:premierleague.com
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 