That is 14-0 now. Liverpool have scored 14 goals without reply against Tottenham Hotspur, going back to March 10, 2013. On that day, Stewart Downing and Steven Gerrard claimed the last two in a 3-2 victory. The following season Liverpool won 9-0 on aggregate. Now this. It was meant to be a new era under Mauricio Pochettino, but new eras don’t tend to last long around White Hart Lane.
Don’t worry, there will be another along in a minute.

This is, of course, the post-Suarez era at Liverpool and yesterday was the brightest it has looked. The visitors were worth the impressive margin of victory and could have had more if Mario Balotelli, in particular, had taken his first half chances. Balotelli missed two free headers and a long-range shot into an unguarded net, but his debut was exciting nonetheless.

His movement, energy and commitment were close to a ten, even if his finishing was a two. There were no great shocks beyond his garish footwear, though, and he even stood gallantly aside to let Gerrard take Liverpool’s second-half penalty. When his number came up after 61 minutes, Balotelli walked calmly to the touchline and shook Rodgers’ hand. It was a smart move, giving him an early debut and Tottenham’s defence looks to have been flattered by opening league games against West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers.
They had not conceded going into this match: within 45 minutes they could have been 4-0 down.

With Balotelli there is no such thing as a quiet afternoon, and so it proved. He could have scored a goal after three minutes, a hat-trick before half-time, he nearly got snapped in half by Eric Dier and sported a collection of the most outrageous footwear this side of Elton John in Pinball Wizard guise.

As a performance it was close to impossible to evaluate, however. Balotelli contrived to be effective and yet wasteful, and was saved by the finishing of his team-mates. Had the game finished goalless, those first-half chances would have been scrutinised more harshly.

Balotelli arrived in enormous bright red training shoes, a photographer’s dream, and changed into boots, one pink the other pale blue, that were equally made for a lens. He is box office, no doubt of that and from Liverpool’s first attack could have captured the headlines as well as the pictures. It was Raheem Sterling’s cross that picked him out at the far post, surprisingly unguarded by Tottenham’s napping defence.

It should have been a goal, but instead his header found goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. The ball bounced back, but Balotelli could not turn it in.
In the 14th minute, same again. Gerrard struck a free-kick from the left, the sound of gentle snoring emanated from Tottenham’s back four, and Balotelli missed with another far post header. It was just past the half hour when Balotelli had the chance to mark his debut with the spectacular.
It would certainly not have been undeserved after some superbly tenacious work from deep set Daniel Sturridge free on the right.

Lloris was quick off his line, but cleared only as far as Balotelli, who had a free shot at goal from 30 yards. – Daily Mail.com.

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