Tottenham Hotspur’s Ben Davies impressed for Wales.
Tottenham Hotspur went into the international break off the back of a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Watford, with Mauricio Pochettino far from happy that his side threw the game away having led 1-0.
Spurs couldn’t build on their 3-0 win at Manchester United, and Pochettino will be hoping that his side return to top form against Liverpool after the international break.
Pochettino may even be looking for some of his underperforming players to recapture some form with their national teams, with Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen not yet at their best this term.
Whilst their dip in performance could be explained by a limited pre-season having been at the World Cup, the underwhelming displays of Ben Davies at left back have been a surprise concern.
A consistent performer last season, Davies made the left back position his own under Pochettino, but he was dropped against Manchester United and substituted for Danny Rose against Watford after some below-par displays.
Some have been concerned by Davies and his performance levels in the first few weeks of the season, but he was back to somewhere near his best as Wales thrashed the Republic of Ireland 4-1 on Thursday night.
Davies played a stunning long ball to set up Gareth Bale’s goal to put Wales 2-0 up, and was solid defensively throughout as he put his questionable domestic form behind him.
That will be a huge boost to Pochettino after fans questioned Davies’ display against Watford, and will give Spurs belief that he can come back in against Liverpool and help deal with Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
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