Spurs midfielder Dier spoke about something which Reds legend Jamie Carragher thought helped Mauricio Pochettino’s side more than Jurgen Klopp’s charges.
Tottenham Hotspur defensive midfielder Eric Dier has claimed that the three-week break between the Premier League finale and the Champions League final will have been as beneficial to Liverpool as it has been for Spurs.
The final matchday of the English top flight took place on Sunday 12 May, all 20 teams kicking off at 3pm BST, while the European showpiece in Madrid, which features two Premier League teams for the first time since 2008, kicks off at 8pm BST on Saturday 1 June.
Given how English football has a reputation for gluts of fixtures, including spells where teams play twice in the space of 48 hours or three times in one week, not to mention an absence of a winter break – until next season anyway (BBC Sport) – such a long pause may appear almost unusual for two English teams.
There has been debate over whether the three-week break will benefit Spurs more than Liverpool, considering the North Londoners have a chance to rest their relatively small squad and nurse injured and otherwise sidelined players back to health.
In addition, Liverpool have lost just once in all competitions since January, while Spurs have lost nine times – including at Anfield – during that same period of time, which may suggest the Reds could have lost momentum, which in turn may just be advantageous for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
Indeed, Anfield legend Jamie Carragher is quoted by The Independent as having told podcast The Anfield Wrap that the break annoyed him “a little bit, to be honest. It probably helps Spurs more than it helps us.”
However, Dier does not believe in this, and is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying: “I don’t think there’s too much of a difference for either side. Liverpool have had a few injuries at the end of the season too, the gap just gives both teams the chance to be in the best possible shape for the final.
“It’s always been the message from the manager that this is very much the squad, the coaching staff and not just the team. Now is no different, these last two weeks every player has been trying to help the team in every way possible. We’re all pushing towards the same objective.”
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