Tottenham Hotspur lost 2-1 to Liverpool at Anfield in the League Cup on Tuesday night.
Tottenham’s Vincent Janssen in action with Liverpool’s Ragnar Klavan
Former Liverpool favourite Mark Lawrensen was covering the Liverpool versus Tottenham Hotspur match at Anfield last night for BBC Sport, and as the visitors struggled to make decent goalscoring matches for much of the match, the Reds legend highlighted the problem with Mauricio Pochettino’s attack on the night.
In fact, it is a problem that may have existed for much of the season so far, with new Spurs signing Vincent Janssen struggling to find the net unless he has an opportunity from the spot.
“Vincent Janssen hasn’t got the pace,” Lawrenson reasoned on BBC Sport. “His movement is good and he is good at holding the ball up.
Tottenham’s Vincent Janssen shoots at goal
“If you play with him, it is up to the midfield players to get in and around him. A central defender can get really tight and not worry about the space in behind.”
Though he is somewhat of a divisive figure, no one can argue with Lawrenson’s success in football – including his three League Cup titles during his Liverpool career.
The Dutchman was his usual combative self with several good moments of hold up play, but he had few moments of real attacking threat, and rarely seemed to stretch what was a makeshift Liverpool defence, in stark contrast to Reds forward Daniel Sturridge who was a livewire for the home side.
Janssen ended up scoring for Spurs from 18 yards to set up a tense finish, but the game notably opened up when Erik Lamela came on in the second half, with the Argentine carrying the ball to the edge of and into the box – one such moment led to the spot kick and Lamela appealed for another that could easily have been given.
Tottenham’s Vincent Janssen scores their first goal from the penalty spot
Having said that, few in the Premier League are as good as attacking the box from midfield than Dele Alli, Tottenham’s usual number 10, and he has been unable, thus far, to stretch the defence enough for Janssen to focus on being a goal threat in the area. It is true that Spurs looked a much stronger side with the quick Heung-min Son up front against Manchester City, but then the South Korean struggled against West Brom in the next round of fixtures.
All players have qualities and weaknesses, and though Janssen is never going to boast the pace of someone like Sturridge, Pochettino should see that the 22-year-old has strengths that can be of use to his side, if they play to to them.
For now, Janssen has two goals from the penalty spot in his Tottenham career, but if the Netherlands international’s work rate continues, he will surely get off the mark in open play soon.
Tottenham’s Vincent Janssen celebrates scoring his first goal
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