Five things we learned from Tottenham’s pivotal 1-1 draw away to Liverpool

Tottenham Hotspur ended their four-game winless run in all competitions with a draw against Liverpool to keep their Premier League survival hopes alive.

Here are five things we learned from Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham.

Tottenham name just seven substitutes amid injury crisis

Tonight was a pivotal one for Tottenham Hotspur in their quest to beat the drop, or at least stay above the dotted line.

Nottingham Forest, West Ham United and Leeds United all managed to take away a point from their respective games; for Spurs, the task was to avoid defeat.

They managed that, but there is no denying just how depleted the squad is at the moment. A whopping 13 players out for the Liverpool clash forced Igor Tudor to name a rather trimmed bench.

On the substitute bench comprising just seven players, we had two goalkeepers, two senior players, and several academy players.

Tottenham will no doubt be hoping for some respite come next week against Nottingham Forest.

Spurs injuries force Igor Tudor to start Souza at right wing

Still on the injuries affecting the squad, Tudor had to get creative in dealing with what is a crisis. At the moment, Spurs are short of wingers, and that has been the case for a while now.

We have often seen Tottenham go a lot more narrow in the absence of Mohammed Kudus, but this evening the interim boss opted for some width and turned to new signing Souza on the right.

He did put in a decent shift out wide, even when he was barely supported by his full-back, Pedro Porro.

The decision to sell Brennan Johnson and not bring in more depth on the wings looks very, very costly each time.

Kudus is obviously nearing a return now, and that should ease some of the burden on the squad. Fingers crossed, he is back sooner rather than later.

Another Guglielmo Vicario error hands Liverpool opener

It sure has been a difficult week for Spurs goalkeepers. Last week, it was Antonin Kinsky in goal with two costly errors in the first leg of the Champions League tie.

While Tudor stated that the Czech international could still feature for Tottenham, he instead opted to have Guglielmo Vicario back in goal for this one.

But it was yet the same story for the former Juventus manager, as Vicario’s positioning for Dominik Szoboszlai’s free-kick did not do him any favours.

He left far too much space to his right and failed to get a strong hand on the ball. The goalkeeping position is one that the Croat is far from pleased with, given his recent selections.

Tottenham show fight and resilience in Liverpool draw

A lot has been made about the mentality of this Tottenham side and whether they have what it takes to dig deep and fight for Premier League survival.

Most of their displays have been far from good enough in both quality and effort, but today they finally showed that there is some fight left in them.

The likes of Richarlison and Archie Gray have long been praised for their fighting spirit, but it looks like the rest of the squad now know that they need to compete and put the work in if they are to stay in this division.

It was not only a good point, but one that brought an end to their four defeats in a row. The hope now is that they build on this going into their next games.

Callum Olusesi makes Premier League debut as Spurs finally turn to youth

There have been calls for Tottenham to turn to their youth players during this injury crisis. In a time when Spurs are in desperate need of energy, positivity, and able bodies, the likes of Luca Williams-Barnett have been ignored.

Before today, those calls had fallen on deaf ears. But in the 76th minute, we saw Callum Olusesi come on for his Premier League debut. When he came on, he added so much positive energy to that midfield during the closing stages.

Another youngster was also introduced, James Rowswell, with the academy star earning his first Premier League start.

If the injury crisis continues further, then this is a good solution to get so much-needed drive in the closing moments, while also offering these young players an opportunity to make a huge impact for their club.

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