Premier League 2018/19: 3 reasons why Liverpool beat Tottenham
Georginio Wijnaldum's first away strike, as well as Roberto Firmino's close-range effort, helped seal a narrow yet commanding victory for Liverpool against Tottenham at Wembley.
Jurgen Klopp found himself regularly frustrated at his side's inability to take their goalscoring chances with more of a clinical edge, as their 2-1 win flattered Spurs in a match they dominated in terms of clear-cut opportunities.
However, they maintained their perfect start to the new campaign - five wins from five matches, the ideal preparation ahead of next week's Champions League home fixture against Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Let's take a look at the 3 reasons why the Reds ran out 2-1 winners over Mauricio Pochettino's men this afternoon.
#3 Tottenham's flawed defensive gameplan
The way in which Pochettino set up his side today remains a mystery, even in the post-match analysis.
Starting Danny Rose over Ben Davies turned out to be a mistake, as the England international was continuously looking to get forward - rather than remaining patient and holding firm defensively when out of possession. The blame, of course, cannot be solely placed on the 28-year-old, though selecting a four-man backline proved pivotal in the way Liverpool attacked at will.
Their forward players were regularly bypassing both him and Kieran Trippier down the flanks, leaving Vertonghen and Alderweireld to defend 3 vs 2 situations far too often. They were sloppy in possession and uninspiring off-the-ball, a disappointing display where neither player created enough to warrant such attacking tendencies against Liverpool's counter-attacking tactics.
Dier struggled in holding midfield, as the Reds' relentless pressing game saw him isolated with seemingly limited forward options to pass to. All in all, they failed to take care of possession well enough while allowing Liverpool to regularly create chances because their tactical set-up played to the visitors' strengths.