Missing players and Anfield atmosphere – Ange Postecoglou lists Tottenham excuses
Ange Postecoglou says he was pleased with the way Tottenham Hotspur started at Anfield but admitted that it was always going to be extremely challenging for his side the moment Liverpool went ahead.
As expected, there was a party atmosphere ahead of kick-off at Anfield as Liverpool were looking to ensure they celebrated the Premier League title in front of their home fans.
Tottenham threatened to spoil the party with the way they began the game, with Dominic Solanke putting the away side in front on 12 minutes.
However, that only served to kick the Reds into action as they pretty much put the tie to bed by hitting three goals before the interval, before two more followed after the break as they thumped Spurs 5-1 to lift the trophy.
Postecoglou says Anfield atmosphere made it difficult for Spurs
The Tottenham boss insisted that he was pleased with the way his players started the game and the territory they enjoyed.
However, he confessed that once Alexis Mac Allister put the home side in front on 24 minutes, it was always going to be an uphill battle for his players, particularly given the raucous atmosphere at Anfield.
Speaking after the 5-1 thrashing, Postecoglou told Football.London: “Credit to Liverpool, worthy champions and they have been the outstanding team all year, consistent and again today obviously. I thought we started the game well and sort of made things difficult for them.
“Even apart from the goal, I thought just in general we had decent territory but once they got in front with the atmosphere inside the stadium fair to say it was going to be difficult for us to claw them back and that’s how it proved.”
Ange Postecoglou admits changes proved costly for Tottenham
As expected, the Australian rotated his squad for the trip to Merseyside, choosing to rest several key players ahead of the Europa League semifinal clash against Bodo/Glimt.
Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Pedro Porro were unused substitutes while Pape Sarr and Dejan Kulusevski got 45 minutes under their belt.
Meanwhile, Rodrigo Bentancur was not even part of the matchday squad, and Postecoglou confessed that his side paid the price for the changes they made.
He added: “It’s not easy, it’s not easy on the players because if you sort of look at Liverpool’s lineup, you can almost pick it on a weekly basis. I had made a lot of changes but I just felt it was necessary.
“A lot of our players have missed a lot of this season with injuries and it wasn’t just about bringing them back but managing their minutes because obviously we want them ready.
“Guys like Micky and Romero today could have played but they’ve missed so much of the season that we’ve just got to be really careful about when we use them.
“Guys like Pedro and Bentancur have played a lot this year. It has been a juggling act for sure and that hasn’t helped the team, hasn’t helped the players and when you’re facing the best you pay that price.”
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