Spurs’ Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread, while Liverpool are sitting pretty.
Martin Keown has claimed in his Daily Mail ‘Tackle Keown’ column that Liverpool are performing better than Tottenham Hotspur in Europe because Jurgen Klopp’s side boast the depth required.
Spurs’ Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread after failing to beat PSV Eindhoven in Holland on Tuesday night, suffering a 2-2 draw to Mark van Bommel’s side.
Hugo Lloris was sent off while two incidents of slack defending allowed Hirving Lozano and Luuk de Jong to find the back of the net, cancelling out Lucas Moura and Harry Kane’s goals.
Keown believes Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool boast the depth needed to go far in the Champions League, after they beat Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday evening – whereas Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs simply do not have that strength.
“Too many were not able to get a full pre-season under their belt,” Keown said. “Unless you get a minimum three weeks of hard graft under your belts before a season, you simply do not have the stamina and the energy.
“It becomes both mentally and physically draining competing on all those fronts. Players start to get injured. When those injuries occur, Pochettino is not able to call upon the same calibre of squad player as Klopp at Liverpool.
“Tottenham did not strengthen in the summer and when core players are unavailable, their performances suffer.”
Spurs have just one point from their opening three Group B matches, losing to Inter Milan despite leading with 10 minutes left, while suffering a 4-2 loss to Barcelona at home.
To stand any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages, Spurs may have to win all three matches against Inter, Barca and PSV. But finishing third and qualifying for the Europa League may be much more likely.
Spurs are next in action on Monday night as they play host to Premier League champions Manchester City at Wembley.
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