Gary Neville has named four Liverpool players who “need to do better” after Tottenham Hotspur fell 3-3 before Diogo Jota

Gary Neville names four Liverpool players who ‘need to do better’ after Tottenham win

Gary Neville has named four Liverpool players who “need to do better” after Tottenham Hotspur fell 3-3 before Diogo Jota capitalized on a late defensive error. Jurgen Klopp’s side looked out of sight and scored three goals in the space of 15 minutes before Neville said defensive errors allowed Spurs to do so.

A week after being torn 6-1 at Newcastle, troubled Spurs faced another drumbeat as Curtis Jones and Luis Diaz scored for Liverpool within five minutes before Mo Salah’s 15th-minute penalty that Liverpool have seemingly put out of sight. However, as the first half wore on, Spurs found weakness in Liverpool and had several chances before Harry Kane netted a goal.
Son Heung-Min netted from the stands with a second Spurs goal and Richarlison produced a dramatic comeback in the 93rd minute. Liverpool’s blush was saved a minute later when Jota came on the other side to level late, but Neville still highlighted the weaknesses in Klopp’s side. Speaking on the Gary Neville podcast, the pundit pointed to a tactical weakness which saw full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robrtson advance, exposing Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk. He said: “Kanate on the right had a nightmare from 40 minutes today.”

READ MORE: Liverpool star Diogo Jota breaks Tottenham heart as referee’s decision costs Spurs dearly

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Neville was then asked how much of that was down to Trent Alexander-Arnold not playing as a regular right-back. The pundit added: “You have to connect the two. You can’t keep sticking to the cracks, you have to deal with them properly. Any chance Tottenham feels it’s going well. “I love Trent on the ball, I love it when he goes down the middle and down the right. But you can’t wait unless they got into a back three and Robertson ducked in and let Konate carry on on that side. But they’re not going in a back three, Robertson is also flying forward. They expect Konaté to play at right-back and right centre-back and that’s too much to ask. It can be done, but if you’re not quite right or you’re in the right season and conceding then you just can’t. Neville pointed to all of Liverpool’s four, including Konate and Van Dijk, as the reason Spurs came back into the game, saying the Reds weren’t confident enough in their full-back system. He added: “You have to be at the top of your game to get through this and Liverpool just aren’t there at the moment.
“They (the defenders) have to do better and I hold them fully responsible today. They were all over the back and put Tottenham back in the game. Tottenham were lucky today not to have played against a defense confident Liverpool and a confident Liverpool team, otherwise they would have been drawn six, seven or eight goals clear here.”

Neville named four Liverpool players who “need to do better” after Tottenham Hotspur fell 3-3 before Diogo Jota capitalized on a late defensive error. Jurgen Klopp’s side looked out of sight and scored three goals in 15 minutes before Neville said defensive mistakes allowed Spurs to nearly steal a point

Son Heung-Min secured a finish in the stands with a second Spurs goal and Richarlison completed a dramatic 93rd-minute comeback. Liverpool’s blush was saved a minute later when Jota surged at the other end to score a late equaliser.

Neville was then asked how much of this was due to Trent Alexander-Arnold not playing as a normal right-back? The pundit added: “You have to connect the two. They can’t stick to his cracks, they have to handle him well. Every chance Tottenham had heard came down the right side. “I love Trent on the ball, I love it when he comes on the ball down the center and on the right. But you can’t wait unless they’ve gotten into a back three and Robertson has ducked and had let Konate continue on that side. But they’re not going in a back three, Robertson is also flying forward. They expect Konate to play at right-back and right-centre-back and that’s It can be done, but if you’re not quite right or you’re in the right season and conceding, it just doesn’t work that way.

Neville pointed to all of Liverpool’s four, including Konate and Van Dijk, as the reason Spurs came back into the game, saying the Reds weren’t confident enough in their full-back system. He added: “You have to be at the top of your game to get through this and Liverpool just aren’t there at the moment.
“They (the defenders) have to do better and I hold them fully responsible today. They were all over the back and put Tottenham back in the game. Tottenham were lucky today not to have played against a defense confident Liverpool and a confident Liverpool team, otherwise they would have been drawn six, seven or eight goals clear here.”