Gareth Bale scores at both ends as Liverpool comeback not enough at Tottenham

Gareth Bale was at his flying, unplayable best in the opening quarter-of-an-hour and set up Aaron Lennon's opener before hitting a free-kick for Spurs' second.

Liverpool improved after the break and dominated at White Hart Lane before Bale's own goal, when he was unfortunate to deflect Lennon's goalline clearance, gave them hope.

But Tottenham held on for a victory to follow the weekend win against West Ham United and ensure Andre Villas-Boas' team continue to recover from three previous Premier League defeats.

Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool, meanwhile, gave up their eight-game unbeaten run and it was a familiar story of wasted chances and a need to find goalscoring support for Luis Suarez.

The win, which moves Spurs above Arsenal and Everton into fifth, did not come easily - but it did remind the club's critics that in Bale they have a man capable of winning a match almost single-handedly.

Playing at the same high tempo that he lped them to destroy West Ham, Tottenham flew out of the blocks and stamped their authority on the game from the off on a bitterly cold night in North London.

Bale was key to Tottenham's quick start and the early pressure paid off as they took the lead in style in the seventh minute, with the Welshman collecting the ball on the halfway line and breezing past three players before squaring to Lennon, who tapped home from close range.

Nine minutes later, Bale was the goalscorer as he took a five-yard run up at a free-kick and despatched a powerful drive which may have deflected off the wall, completely bamboozling Reina, who could only stand and watch the ball sail in to his right.

Liverpool pushed for an equaliser after the break but they almost conceded a third when Martin Skrtel's poor clearance set Jermain Defoe free before Clint Dempsey selfishly muscled his team-mate off the ball and shot wide.

Spurs were struggling to get on the ball and their best threat came from set-plays. Bale fizzed another long-range curler just wide in the 68th minute.

But two minutes later, the former Southampton man unwittingly put Liverpool back in the game, as Lennon's goalline clearance from a Steven Gerrard header smacked him in the face to fly into the home net

Liverpool pushed for an equaliser but could not find a vital goal.

Tottenham Hotspur	Team Statistics	Liverpool
2	Goals	1
2	1st Half Goals	0
7	Shots on Target	5
7	Shots off Target	5
2	Blocked Shots	7
1	Corners	12
8	Fouls	18
0	Offsides	1
1	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
78.2	Passing Success	84.4
37	Tackles	18
73	Tackles Success	88.9
35	Possession	65
48.9	Territori al Advantage	51.1
307	Total Passes	556
5	Total Crosses	29
134	Lost Balls	171
48	Recoveries	49
40.4	1st Half Poss.	59.6
30.3	2nd Half Poss.	69.7

Brendan Rodgers claims Liverpool denied two penalties in defeat at Tottenham

The visitors dominated for long periods, despite going 2-0 down early on, and Rodgers was particularly incensed by a clash involving Mousa Dembele and Steven Gerrard.

The Reds boss: "We never got the rub of the green tonight. It was a little embarrassing to be honest.

"Two clear penalties. Steven Gerrard - that was bordering on assault, never mind a tackle. It was frightening how we never got the penalty for that. And if you watch, Luis Suarez gets kicked by William Gallas, also."

Rodgers claimed Clint Dempsey also dived in the build-up to Spurs' second goal, and insisted Liverpool should have come away from White Hart Lane with at least a point.

"I thought we were absolutely magnificent," he said. "I don't think we can come here and play any better than that.

"We'd have been disappointed if we'd drawn the game, but to actually lose it was bitterly disappointing for the players because I thought they were absolutely fantastic.< /p>

"We started reasonably well but found ourselves 2-0 down very quickly and that can be difficult.

"But you could see the spirit and the reaction of the team for the rest of the game. That was a game that we dominated.

"It was just relentless and some of our play was outstanding, but we were just unfortunate we couldn't at least get the draw."

Liverpool coach Mike Marsh says Lucas is on course for comeback

The Brazilian midfielder has not featured since August because of a thigh injury, his second serious injury in a year after he missed a large part of last season with a knee problem.

He stepped up his fitness battle after coming through an hour for the Reds' U21 team against Middlesbrough last Friday.

"Lucas came back and played an hour last week in an U21 fixture so he could be available sooner rather than later," Marsh told the club's website.

"Everyone is looking forward to welcoming him back and getting him on the pitch in a first-team shirt.

"He's not far away at all - if he gets a good week in training while we're away in London, he won't be far away from being included in the next game or two.

"Fortunately we're blessed with a lot of central midfielders so there's no rush to get him back in - when the time is right I'm sure the boss will put him in when he thinks it will benefit Lucas and the team.

"He's a Brazilian in ternational, he moved away from home when he was very young - he is a very mentally strong player. We're looking forward to having him back."

Rodgers eyes Champions League

The Reds have failed to finish in the top four in the last three seasons and that has undoubtedly impacted on the signings successive managers have been able to make.

Nine points currently separate them and fourth-placed Chelsea but Liverpool could strike a significant psychological blow if they beat Tottenham, who are only four points better off than them, at White Hart Lane on Wednesday.

Spurs have shown over the last couple of years what effect the lure of Europe's elite club competition - combined with a healthy transfer budget - can have.

In the summer they signed two of Liverpool's major targets midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson and forward Clint Dempsey from under the nose of Rodgers as a result of better financial backing.

The Reds boss knows he cannot compete with the money counterpart Andre Villas-Boas has at his disposal and accepts rebuilding for a top-four challenge may take a while.

"Over the course of the summer they invest ed something in the region of 55million net in terms of everything they were putting into the group," said the Reds boss.

"But it is not just in the last window, Tottenham have been building the group steadily and have worked their way up the league to become challenges for those Champions League positions.

"We are trying to arrive in that position and we see what sometimes it takes in order to do that.

"Of course Liverpool want to be in for the top players and top talents and this is a club which will bring those players here.

"But obviously a lot of players want to be in the Champions League so if they want to come in here that is an area we want to get into in the coming years.

"We know we are not too far away and are very close to be arriving in that zone that we want to be in."

Rodgers' squad requires some significant arrivals in January but the manager has stated on several previous occasions he will not have a huge amount to s pend.

But the Northern Irishman is hopeful alternative methods will be equally as successful.

"If you haven't got the investment you have to find other ways of doing it and that is where we are at the moment," he added.

"That is the challenge for us and one we are accepting.

"Globally we are looking at a way of working, can we be different in our way of playing, can we find a bargain somewhere, can we develop young players and bring them through?"

Rodgers dismissed as "irrelevant" the suggestion Tottenham had made a serious approach to him to replace Harry Redknapp in the summer.

He also stressed he could have signed Sigurdsson - who was asking for double the 30,000 weekly wage Liverpool were offering - had they wanted to pursue the deal.

But the Liverpool manager accepted they were priced out of a move for Dempsey after Fulham, unhappy at what they felt had been Liverpool's very public courting of the player, asked for 6milli on when he had been offered to other clubs for 4million and owners Fenway Sports Group refused to sanction the additional spend on a 29-year-old.

"I was very happy in my work at Swansea. Harry did a brilliant job there and for whatever reason they decided it wasn't to be and looked elsewhere," he said.

"Tottenham is a terrific club with a great history but for me this is a really unique football club and I've not regretted a moment.

"Tottenham have chosen a manager, they have decided to go down the route of Andre Villas-Boas and he will look to continue the great work Harry did.

"My only thinking and importance is on Liverpool."

On the two failed summer transfer bids he added: "It (Sigurdsson) was something that if we wanted to do it we could have done it but it wasn't to be and we moved on.

"There was an offer to sign Dempsey - he was obviously a player who had done well during his time at Fulham and I am sure the likes of ourselves and other clubs were interested.

"But the club felt they had done what they could to get the player and he moved on to Tottenham."

Jordan Henderson to prove Liverpool career for life and not just Christmas

The 16million summer 2011 signing from Sunderland was part of a big-money squad overhaul conducted under former boss Kenny Dalglish.

But Henderson only made his first Premier League start of this season under new manager Brendan Rodgers in the weekend draw at Swansea City after being restricted to substitute, Capital One Cup and Europa League appearances.

The 22-year-old has been offered encouragement from Rodgers but knows he still has to prove his credentials at five-time European champions Liverpool.

Henderson said in the Daily Star ahead of Wednesday's game at Tottenham Hotspur: "If you move to a club like Liverpool, you have to try to make it for life and not just for Christmas.

"When I signed for Liverpool, I definitely wanted it to be long-term and I will give it everything I have got.

"It is a lot easier to throw a tantrum and walk away from a big club than fight to make it work, isn't it?

"Other players might treat it different ways but it just gives me a different incentive to push on and go forward.

"I think the manager has seen that I have improved since he came to the club and I need to keep on improving."

Reds don't rely on Luis - Johnson

The Reds drew a blank at Swansea on Sunday as Brendan Rodgers returned to the club he left for Anfield in May.

Rodgers will reflect on a contest his side could have won after having Jose Enrique's strike ruled out for offside, seeing Raheem Sterling hit the bar and Suarez force two sharp saves from Gerhard Tremmel.

But the inability to find a breakthrough adds further weight to the impression that if Suarez does not find the net, neither do Liverpool.

Suarez has scored 10 Premier League goals so far this season; no other Liverpool player has managed more than one.

But Johnson, who excelled at the Liberty Stadium, does not feel the Merseysiders are too dependent on their 22million front man and echoed his manager's belief that Enrique's first-half effort should have stood.

"We are not relying on Suarez at all," Johnson said. "Obviously he is our main striker, but we are not relying on him.

"It's everyone's job to get around hi m and try and score.

"You need a bit of luck in front of goal and on another day we might have had two or three. It's a difficult one because with Jose's goal I thought his feet were in line with the last defender.

"His shoulders were offside but surely the advantage should go with the attacker. I have seen them given. It is frustrating for us but you can see why the linesman has given it if he can see some part of his body in front.

"I never felt that we were in any danger but they dug in and defended well."

Liverpool are now eight games unbeaten in the top flight having recorded four wins and four draws.

Sunday's 0-0 draw leaves them 11th in the table, still a point and two places below Swansea, but Johnson believes the Anfield club now have a solid base from which to climb into the upper reaches of the standings as they prepare to face Tottenham on Wednesday.

"It is a good platform. If you can't win a game you've got to make sure you don't lose it," he said. "We are sitting there and haven't had that much luck. We are not relying on luck but it's a day like this that you could go home with a 1-0 or 2-0. But we will keep going and if we do get that bit of luck it will be okay.

"We will recover from this and turn our attention to Spurs. It is a big game and we have a couple of days to prepare for it and hopefully we will pick up three points."

No Williams worries for Laudrup

Defender Williams criticised Suarez in a section of his book 'My Premier League Diary', accusing the Uruguayan of being a diver and showing contempt toward his fellow professionals.

The timing of the comments has stoked the fires ahead of Sunday's Liberty Stadium contest between the two sides, as Reds manager Brendan Rodgers and midfielder Joe Allen return to their former club for the first time.

But Laudrup does not believe the furore will affect the Wales captain.

He said: "We know all about Luis Suarez - and Ashley Williams certainly seems to know about him.

"The comments are not something that surprised me because nothing surprises me in football.

"There have been lots of comments about Suarez, not only from Swansea but lots of other clubs.

"But there is a referee on the pitch and three other officials and they have to manage the game. The important thing is for our players to keep inside the rules and I am 100% sure they will and we will try to win this game.

"But I have no problem with Ashley Williams playing against Luis Suarez, no problem at all."

Suarez, 25, has been in red-hot form this season, and has scored 13 goals in 18 appearances in all competitions.

Laudrup acknowledges it will be difficult to stop the former Ajax forward, and has warned his side they must look to cut off his supply if he is not to add to his tally.

"It is not about one man. We all agree he is a player to watch because he has scored 70 or 80% of their goals," he said.

"But it's only part of it; you have to look at the people who make the passes and stopping the service.

"He will get chances and he will create some things but the only thing we can do is watch him very carefully and try not to let him out of our sight.

"He is a clever player - you only have to see the equaliser at Chelsea to see that which was very smart.

"He is a goalscorer who has the insti nct about where the ball is going to go, but we know about him."

Laudrup has received an injury boost with midfielder Ki Sung-yueng back from a hamstring injury, while defender Kyle Bartley returns from a thigh injury.

Ki's return could see top scorer Michu moved back up front, with Itay Shechter making way.

Swansea have been on a good recent run, and climbed into the top half of the table with their 2-1 win at Newcastle.

They currently sit above Liverpool in the table, a fact that has not gone unnoticed among the Swansea faithful.

But Laudrup expects Rodgers and Allen to have a good reception at the Liberty.

He said: "I think the reception when we played them at Anfield was good for him and Joe and I think it will be the same here.

"Football is about strong emotions and I think it is up to each fan who comes to the stadium on Sunday to do what he or she wants to.

"He did great here, like Roberto Martinez and Paolo Sous a. We can't say how other people should react but if you ask me what I would do then I would applaud him."