Tottenham 1 Liverpool 0Liverpool's season of silver has given way to one of lead, which may be a valuable commodity in its own right but does not feature in trophy rooms.
If Arsenal fail to beat Bolton at the Reebok this evening, Liverpool's hopes of the Premiership title will remain on life support. The reality, however, is that losing to Gustavo Poyet's goal has left them to contest second place and automatic qualification for next season's Champions League.
But in practical terms, Liverpool are still short of being viable alternatives as champions to Arsenal or Manchester United. Gerard Houllier was bullish: "We've lost one league game in 15," he said. "What's the crisis? I hope I have a crisis like that next season. The foundations are there. We know what we need to do to improve some areas of our game and it will all be done in time."
What Liverpool need are more options, both physically and tactically. The team is strong on the basics but short of players who can win matches with the sort of idiosyncratic touches of individualism which Robert Pires has brought to Arsenal's game this season.
On Saturday, when they needed to produce a tale of the unexpected, Liverpool became prosaically predictable. This was due in no small part to the absence of Steven Gerrard, the man most likely to destroy opponents with a well-judged pass. He missed the game after suffering his umpteenth groin strain. "It is not serious but playing him would have been too much of a risk," Houllier explained, leaving people to wonder if Sven-Goran Eriksson might find himself having similar thoughts on the morning of England's World Cup encounter with Argentina.
His withdrawal from such a crucial match for his club can only prompt fresh doubts about the likelihood of his staying fit in Japan.
Had Gerrard played, Liverpool might have been more inclined to adopt their normal approach of seeking goals on the break. As it was, Cromwell's infantry tried to emulate Rupert's cavalry with predictably confused results.
In the first half Vladimir Smicer played in the space behind Michael Owen and Emile Heskey, presumably in the hope that the Czech's passing skills would make up in part for the lack of service. Smicer was not up to the task but for 20 minutes or so the momentum given by Dietmar Hamann, Danny Murphy and John Arne Riise produced a series of corners and free-kicks which saw Spurs coming under considerable pressure from the tall men their opponents could bring into the area. A header from Riise, which struck the foot of a post, was the closest of several close things.
Yet at the start Teddy Sheringham had gone almost as close for Spurs, with a shot and a header, and with the pace and persistence of Simon Davies regularly getting the better of Jamie Carragher and Riise on the right, Tottenham were clearly in no mood for an end-of-season walkabout.
Four minutes before half-time Sheringham found Darren Anderton on the left and his centre skimmed the leaping Steffen Iversen before coming back off Davies for Poyet to drive the ball past Jerzy Dudek.
For the second half Liverpool gave up using Smicer in the hole but waited until the 81st minute to introduce Jari Litmanen and the stealthier approach they required. Perspiration will never double for inspiration.
TOTTENHAM: Keller, Taricco, Perry, Gardner, Thatcher, Anderton, Poyet, Clemence, Davies, Sheringham, Iversen. Subs Not Used: Sullivan, Doherty, Leonhardsen, Etherington, Jackson. Goal: Poyet 41.
LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Xavier (Berger 68), Henchoz, Hyypia, Carragher, Smicer, Murphy (Litmanen 82), Hamann, Riise, Owen, Heskey (Anelka 64). Subs Not Used: Kirkland, Wright. Booked: Riise.
Referee: P Jones (Loughborough).
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