Liverpool home, 30.12.06

Last updated : 31 December 2006 By SpursMAD

Anthony Clavane, Sunday Mirror: Luis Garcia rolled up his sleeves, got stuck in and was in the right place at the right time to sweep in the decisive goal which could well prove to be a crucial one in Liverpool's bid to claim a Champions League place. It was a scrappy strike to win a scrappy match.

Once Craig Bellamy departed and Dimitar Berbatov replaced the misfiring Mido, the game changed. Sluggish Spurs were revitalised and threw everything at the Reds. The clearly unfit Mido had a poor game, missing a sitter and failing to spark with Jermain Defoe.

Berbatov, whose high fever cost him a starting place, made an instant impact when he came on.

With Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Steven Gerrard driving them on in the incessant rain, Liverpool held on. Man of the match Carragher was a rock in defence as Spurs threw everything at the visitors in the second half in a desperate bid to equalise.

Neil Silver, The People: It was hardly a thriller, but there was plenty in the early stages to interest Terry Venables , the assistant to England boss Steve McClaren.

With both defences looking shaky it seemed a question of when, rather than if, the first goal would be scored.

The game was slipping away from Spurs and there was only one man who might turn the tide. Enter Dimitar Berbatov, who replaced Mido to a hero's welcome two minutes later.

Peter Crouch entered the arena after 64 minutes for Dirk Kuyt, but by then it was virtually impossible for any football to be played due to torrential rain. The one shining light was Berbatov.

The rain stopped and Spurs launched a late rally, starting with a good chance to equalise after 74 minutes which was messed up by Hossam Ghaly but time ran out for them.

Rob Hughes, The Sunday Times: The sheer resilience of Liverpool mastered the storm, both in terms of a monsoon at White Hart Lane and the high energy that Tottenham threw at them late in the game yesterday.

Saved once by their crossbar, but at least three times by Jamie Carragher's head it was all about Liverpool's great resistance and their ability to defend until the end.

This unquestionably had the feel of the third game of Christmas week, the tempo cannot be sustained.

When Steven Gerrard abandoned his role as the holding midfielder on the stroke of half-time, it was Gerrard's ambition that penetrated the goalless stagnation.

Craig Bellamy, ever active like a wind-up mouse, was Liverpool's most likely trigger. Without Ledley King, the Tottenham defence looked less assured from the opening exchanges.

Tottenham missed the flair and subtlety of Dimitar Berbatov.

What the game needed, and neither manager had yet called upon, was a genuine winger. Rafa Benitez recognised the lack of width minutes into the second half when he took off Bellamy, who was suffering from a tight hamstring, put on Pennant, and asked Garcia to play off the shoulder of Kuyt.

For a short time, that initiative allowed Liverpool to seize the momentum, but when Berbatov was at last introduced into the match, replacing the dismal and disappearing Mido, the assault by Tottenham, the pride in these Spurs, was finally evident.

With their playmaker Tom Huddlestone fading, Tottenham in the end had to revert to the long ball, with Calum Davenport lending his height to attack and Gerrard was fortunate to escape with a lecture from the referee, who had clearly seen him raise his hands in anger to Davenport.

Colin Malam, Sunday Telegraph: It was a narrow victory in a frantic contest that put more daylight between Liverpool and one of their rivals for a Champions League spot.

The Merseysiders had to hang on grimly as Tottenham battered them in the closing stages, but the defence refused to buckle.

Liverpool forced the pace initially. Then eleven minutes into the second half, Luis Garcia suffered one of his less distinguished moments when he wasted a glorious opportunity to kill off Spurs with a second goal.

Spurs sent on Danny Murphy and Dimitar Berbatov for Didier Zokora and Mido, and the game underwent a significant change.

Man of the Match Jamie Carragher typified the defensive resistance that enabled Liverpool to withstand Spurs' all-out attacking in the later stages.

Gerry Cox, The Observer: The goal was a shocker and had Martin Jol tearing out what little hair he has on his head.

Substitute Dimitar Berbatov, despite being flu-ridden, still had the extra class to take Tottenham within an ace of equalising, or even taking all three points in a barnstorming finish. However, Liverpool held on.

Yet Spurs could have been two goals ahead within 10 minutes of the start before Liverpool threatened, with Dirk Kuyt missing a sitter.

However, the visitors grew more dominant as the game developed and scored the crucial goal.

It was only when Berbatov replaced Mido in the 59th minute that Spurs really looked dangerous and threatened to get back into the game.

Like most of the other 21 players, Man of the match Jamie Carragher had a nervy opening in a first half littered with errors, but was the staunch heart of the Reds defence in the second half as his side fought a rearguard action.

Nick Townsend, The Independent on Sunday: Steven Gerrard MBE didn't quite live up to that ready-made headline. But on a day when Liverpool refused to accept that honours could end up even, their captain would have been thankful just to leave here last night with his team claiming the points. And, maybe, equally relieved that he didn't depart with the dishonour of a late dismissal to accompany his gong. Which is not to suggest that Gerrard was anything less than his typical, influential self. Just that these were neither the conditions - squalling, driving rain in the second half - nor circumstances for a profusion of slide-rule passes or trademark long-range drives.

It was one for driving his team, clenched-fisted, to victory as Tottenham threatened to claim a share of the spoils from a frenetic match. Gerrard, having already contributed to Luis Garcia's winner, albeit fortuitously, berated his team constantly in the last third of the game. He ended the encounter in one of those moods when he appears to be fighting the world.

It was some heat, some friction, as Spurs strove for an equaliser. For all their endeavours after the interval, when Hossam Ghaly spurned an inviting chance and the goalkeeper Pepe Reina denied Jermain Defoe, the visitors just about deserved to preserve their lead. Ultimately, this was a victory forged on the anvil of Liverpool's herculean second-half rearguard action; one which contrasted enormously with what had preceded it.

Mido and Defoe barely troubled Reina in a frustrating first half for the home team, despite the promptings of an imposing midfielder, Tom Huddlestone.

Liverpool secured the advantage they narrowly merited before the significant change that saw Dimitar Berbatov arrive in place of Mido. As the heavens opened, the striker enlivened Tottenham's attack immediately.

By then Peter Crouch had replaced Dirk Kuyt, and the England man operated as a lone striker as Liverpool's defence held on tenaciously to their lead. With Jamie Carragher a commanding presence, and their captain exemplifying the visitors' spirit, Liverpool stood firm.