Jurgen Klopp's coronation ended all square after his Liverpool side earned a hard-fought 0-0 draw away to Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon.
Divock Origi, who led the line due to the Reds' depleted attacking options, had the best chance early on when his close-range effort came back off the bar.
Spurs settled and Simon Mignolet produced fine saves to keep out Harry Kane and Clinton N'Jie as both sides cancelled each other out at White Hart Lane.
Here, Sports Mole reviews the action from North London.
© Getty Images
Match statistics
SPURS
Shots: 13
On target: 4
Possession: 48%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 15
LIVERPOOL
Shots: 12
On target: 3
Possession: 52%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 11
Was the result fair?
Neither side deserved all three points. It was a 90-minute war of attrition in which both defences emerged with the most credit. Both outfits had chances - all of which came in the first half - but there would have been a sense of injustice had one team left White Hart Lane without a point.
Spurs' performance
On another day, Spurs would have won. They weathered early pressure from Liverpool and never looked like conceding from that point on. At the other end, Kane slowly but surely earned some freedom after being stalked by the relentless Martin Skrtel for the first 25 minutes or so. And the England international should have opened the scoring, but missed a one-on-one with Mignolet, who had earlier kept out N'Jie after the winger replaced the injured Nacer Chadli early on.
In truth, the contest had 0-0 written all over it from early in the second half, with both defences far too good for their attacking counterparts on the day. Still, if any manager emerged unhappy with the draw then it is undoubtedly Mauricio Pochettino.
Liverpool's performance
He proclaimed himself the normal one, and Klopp's Liverpool certainly looked normal this afternoon. Some might even say average - although his stack of injuries must be noted. With a depleted strike-force to contend with, the German had little choice but to name a raw Origi as his spearhead, and the Belgian sent a header against the bar inside the first 20 minutes. That was their first, last and only chance for the rest of the contest.
Klopp had no such injury worries in defence, with Nathaniel Clyne, Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho and Alberto Moreno lining up in his back four. None were more impressive than Sakho, who played a huge role in the point; as did goalkeeper Mignolet, who expertly beat away first-half efforts from Kane and N'Jie. Skrtel, charged with the task of stopping Kane, needed the whistle. So did Liverpool.
They never looked like scoring or conceding in a low-key second half. Under the circumstances, it certainly goes down as a point earned rather than two dropped. As for the performance, little can and will be read into it this early in Klopp's tenure.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Mamadou Sakho: In his pre-match notes, Klopp called for bravery, and nobody in red took that message to heart more than Sakho, who threw himself in the line of fire time and time again to preserve parity for Liverpool; first to keep out Dele Alli's volley, before doing the same to a late drive from Kane.
Biggest gaffe
It was at White Hart Lane, three weeks ago, when Kane scored against Manchester City to open his account for the season. It was a goal that Spurs believed - and hoped - would see the floodgates open for the 22-year-old, who scored 31 times in all competitions last season, but the England striker still looks short on confidence. He could, and certainly should, have opened the scoring in the first half this afternoon, but a tame execution in a one-on-one with Mignolet saw the chance go begging.
Referee performance
Craig Pawson did little wrong in an afternoon which threw up just two talking points from a refereeing perspective. First, Adam Lallana went down inside the area under a challenge from Alli in the second half and, while replays showed that the Liverpool man had a case to support his appeal, it was a small case. Later on, the already-booked Milner collided with Danny Rose in what looked an innocuous coming together. Boos rang around White Hart Lane, but Pawson was right - it was not a foul, and certainly did not merit a second yellow.
What's next?
Spurs: Pochettino and co are back in action for Europa League duty on Thursday when they face Anderlecht in Belgium.
Liverpool: Klopp takes charge of his first Europa League outing on Thursday as the Reds host Rubin Kazan at Anfield.
Shane Callaghan
