Tottenham Have to Cope with Liverpool Pressure and Passing

The defensive pressure, passing, and movement Liverpool bring to each match, regardless of opponent, is what Tottenham must find a way to cope with to win.

The Tottenham XI will have their hands full on Wednesday as Liverpool have used relentless movement, passing, and pressure to outscore teams consistently for the better part of two seasons. This season, despite the injuries, has been no different as Liverpool look to dominate possession and trap teams in their own half pressuring until teams are broken down or concede.

Reds Defensive Pressure

As in the heyday of the Mauricio Pochettino era the defensive pressure from Liverpool starts in the front with the three strikers. The idea is to pressure the opposing defense into mistakes and turn those turnovers into goals. This works because the front three of Saido Mane, Mohamed Salah, and Roberto Firmino all work hard and stick their noses in often.

Mane is tied with Jordon Henderson for the second most tackles on the team with 14 and Firmino is tied with Trent Alexander-Arnold one behind on 13. For comparison Harry Kane is 9th on Tottenham with 8 tackles, most of any attacking player on the team. These tackles typically occur in the attacking third and lead to mismatches and goals. 26 of Liverpool’s 27 goals have been scored in the box.

The idea is simple it takes José Mourinho’s concept of the best offense is waiting for the other team to make a mistake and amplifies it by forcing the mistake. This works often, as Liverpool average 2.25 goals per contest. It does come at a price, however, as Liverpool do concede 1.5 goals per game. So, they do work to outscore you and its starts with pressing in the front of the attack.