Woeful finishing and lacklustre first half defending meant another win for Spurs over Liverpool at the Lane.
Gareth Bale own goal gives Liverpool a lifeline
Brendan Rodgers elected to start with Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson, the former in left back, and both players failed to take yet another of their chances in the side.
That's not to say plenty of others underperformed - Joe Allen suffering a major dip in form and Steven Gerrard almost anonymous in a Liverpool side that sees defenders Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson as two of the main attacking threats.
Liverpool, in their all-black kit, started poorly as Lennon and Bale tortured the reds back line. There was no protection for the defence as the reds midfield was strolled through - evidence of a tika-taka philosophy seemingly vapourising in to thin air.
Bale had two early chances to give Reina to think about - a free-kick and a low drive that went just wide of the post.
In the 7th minute Spurs took the lead. Liverpool's clumsy passing in midfield saw Bale intercept and power through. Stewart Downing who had a 10 yard lead on Aaron Lennon elected to completely ignore the run and Lennon waltzed past him to put away Bale's far post cross.
In the 15th minute the reds had a fantastic opportunity to equaliser, but Jordan Henderson appeared more wary of the incoming tackle than putting the ball in to the empty net.
Seconds later and Clint Dempsey put on the afterburners, Henderson chased back and stuck his hand on the American's back. Dempsey went down far too easily and won the free kick.
Bale stepped over the free kick and Suarez and Henderson's section of the wall disintegrated - the ball flying through and completely wrong-footing Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal.
2-0 down after 16 minutes.
Spurs eased off on their cushion and Liverpool enjoyed a good 15 minute spell of possession. Gerrard was felled under what looked a heavy challenge, but Suarez managed to reach the ball and aimed goalwards. It was cleared off the line by Kyle Walker .
Liverpool had the upperhand in the second half but at times a failure to get people in to the box, and the recurring theme of poor finishing kept the score at 2-0.
The arrival of Shelvey did at least one thing - improved the quality of Liverpool's corner kicks and it was this, and a slice of fortune for the reds, that saw a Lennon clearance rebound off Gareth Bale in to the net. Own Goal - Liverpool's second highest scorer this season.
There were opportunities for both sides as the game wore on but Spurs took the victory. Scoring goals and being able to defend them is what this game's all about. Liverpool have problems with both.
The reds slip to 12th, with only 3 wins in 14 league games.
Brendan Rodgers comments after the game that the players were fantastic are simply not helping.
This whole ethos of accepting mediocrity should certainly not be coming from the manager. Hodgson did it – and it didn’t get him very far with the fans.
Downing’s defending for the first goal was abysmal. Henderson’s bottling out of his open goal was also abysmal. They should have been hung out to dry – not handed a ‘fantastic’ mention.