Report by Dave Usher at Anfield

I would have happily settled for a bad performance and three points. Instead we saw a very good display but two points lost and Bolton leapfrog us in the table.

It hardly seemed fair after the reds produced some excellent football and created a host of clear cut chances, but if we don't get that fourth spot it won't be because of this game, it's due to all the inept displays away from home.

We should have won this game easily. That we didn't was due to bad luck, poor finishing, and some slack defending. Nonetheless, some of the football was of a very high standard, and the players showed no sign of fatigue after their midweek heroics in Turin.

A win at Portsmouth on Wednesday will make things a whole lot better, and to be fair I'd probably have settled for four points from our next two games before kick off.

A repeat of this performance and I'm sure we'll beat Pompey, but with it being away from home who knows what kind of display we'll get.

Rafa's line up was a bit of a surprise, as he opted for three centre backs in a 3-4-3 formation. Warnock and Finnan pushed forward as wing backs, with Garcia and Nunez joining Morientes in a three man frontline.

Interestingly, Alonso started in the middle with the returning Gerrard. I expected Xabi to start on the bench given his expolits in Turin, but it was a welcome sight seeing him take to the field for kick off.

And what a performance he put in!! I don't have the words to describe this lad's talent. He does things which take my breath away, and he makes it look so easy. It's simply astonishing that a player can spend so long on the sidelines, and come back and play at such a level instantly.

Xabi is so good at times he makes even Gerrard look average. That's not meant as a dig at Gerrard, more as a compliment to Alonso. When you see the two of them together in central midfield, Alonso looks the more accomplished - if less explosive - performer.

Gerrard has more to offer than Xabi in a marauding attacking midfield role, but put the two of them together as 'orthodox' centre midfielders and Alonso is much superior.

Not only does Xabi ALWAYS seem to pick the right pass, he also has the ability to deliver it bang on the money with unerring relentlessness.

Gerrard is sometimes criticised for overdoing the Hollywood ball. Xabi plays those passes too, yet he pulls it off with such effortlessness I can only sit there shaking my head in admiration. He's phenomenal.

In terms of passing the ball, and being able to control a midfield, Alonso is superior to Gerrard. However, the skipper is more of a goal threat, is better running with the ball and is a more dynamic type of player.

Who is better? Very difficult to say, as they play different roles. Xabi is certainly better as a central midfield player, and for that reason Gerrard is better utilised further forward where he can best utilise his pace, power and drive.

They appear to compliment eachother perfectly, and should Gerrard deem us worthy of his presence for future years then they could be devastating together. If he deems us not good enough, never mind, we still have Xabi.

The Spanish playmaker wasted little time finding his passing rythm, although his team-mates took longer to get into their stride.

It took a little while for the players to get used to the system they were playing, and the first 20 minutes were very disappointing.

Not that Spurs were doing too much either. They took the lead out of nowhere though, with a stunning drive from Edman which took everyone by surprise. I didn't even see him hit it as I was expecting a cross and was busy appealing for offside against a player in the centre.

It was a fabulous strike, and initially I wondered if Dudek could have done more. He appeared to just wave it away, but having seen the replay he had absolutely no chance.

The goal did seem to act as a wake up call, as the reds managed to step it up a bit. Nunez in particular started to get some joy running at Edman, and got a couple of very good crosses into the box.

Garcia had looked bright and iventive, but his final ball hadn't always been the best. He made up for that though with an equalising goal of stunning quality. The turn on the edge of the box was brilliant, the curling shot into the top corner even better. It was a 'King Kenny' goal.

Luis has really won me over recently. The hugely frustrating spell he had between November and January looks to be well behind him now. No longer does he give the ball away in silly areas, and if he does he usually wins it back instantly.

He showed in the derby he's got bottle, and his workrate is always beyond reproach. He's also hit eleven goals so far, all from open play, which is a fine return.

For some the jury is still out on Luis, for me it is no longer. Rafa was right about him, eleven goals for a £6m midfielder is a good return.

The goal lifted everyone, and it could have been two shortly after when Nunez picked out Morientes with a good cross, but Robinson somehow kept out his powerful header.

At half time I was extremely confident we'd roll Spurs over in the second half. The longer the first half had gone, the better we had started to look.

The one worry was Pellegrino. I thought he'd done pretty well in the first half, but he began the second period badly and Spurs seemed keen to expose him whenever they had possession.

Following the enforced substitution of Warnock in the first half, Rafa appeared to switch to a more orthodox 442 system, with Pellegrino operating at left back.

After the break it was even more apparent, and Pellegrino struggled at times out there. I can't really blame him too much, as he hardly has the build or fleet of foot to play there.

Maybe Traore should been brought on, but clearly Rafa needed to be careful with his subs as he knew Xabi wouldn't last the full game and he wanted to get Cisse on at some point as well.

Kanoute spent a lot of time out on the right flank after the break, presumably as he fancied his chances against big Pele. It proved a sensible ploy, as Spurs regained the lead after Kanoute easily turned the Argentine and crossed for Keane to head home with the aid of a deflection.

It was a hammer blow for us, as having drawn level once we now had to do it again.

But with Alonso and Gerrard running the game, and the impish Garcia looking dangerous, there was plenty of hope. Gerrard had been relatively quiet in the opening period, but as the second half wore on he began making more and more forward runs.

It was from one of those that we were awarded our first pen in what seems like ages. Gerrard burst through onto Garcia's clever flick, and went down under a heavy challenge. The TV replays confirmed what I felt at the time, it was a certain pen.

It's easy to say now of course, but I wouldn't have let him take it. In fact, on a list of potential penalty takers he'd have been about seventh. I wasn't surprised to see him miss, but I certainly won't condemn him for it.

His comments afterwards deserve credit too. Not only did he say that's him finished with pens (fair play, it took Owen about 12 misses before he admitted his failings), but he said he blamed himself for Liverpool not getting three points and he hoped he could make up for it in the remaining games.

I don't blame him for us not getting three points, but if he feels he has a point to prove after this game then great, we can only benefit from that.

Thankfully, the miss didn't prove THAT costly as we drew level not long afterwards. Spurs failed to clear a corner properly, and when the ball fell to Hyypia 20 yards out on the volley, he hammered the ball through a ruck of players and into the bottom corner.

It was as sweet a strike as the one he produced with his left foot from much closer range against Juve, and Sami has really stepped up his game at both ends of the field in recent weeks.

Benitez sent on Cisse for an emotional return to Anfield action, and it seemed certain we'd get a winner. It just wouldn't come though.

The once again excellent Finnan went within inches of a deserved goal after brilliant play from Gerrard created an opening for him.

Garcia then fired over the bar after being fed by Riise, although in his defence the ball sat up horribly as he struck it.

As the game approached stoppage time (2 minutes? Where did they get that from? Two injuries, two goals, a penalty kick, four substitutions and they come up with two minutes?), Gerrard struck a shot goalwards which had half the Kop on its feet in celebration, before it bounced back off the post to safety.

That looked to be the last chance we'd get, but it wasn't. Gerrard took a quick throw in to get Finnan in down the right, and when his cutback reached Morientes it seemed certain he'd grab a dramatic late winner.

It wasn't to be however, as the experienced Spanish international blazed the ball over the goal at the Kop end and Spurs held on for a point.

Star man today was Xabi, no question. He was simply amazing at times. Garcia was excellent too, as were Carragher, Hyypia and Finnan. Gerrard played very well too, he tried hard, ran all over the place and was involved in most of our best moments. It wasn't to be his day though unfortunately.

Great to see Cisse back, and at least we'll be able to call on Baros again now.

Fourth place is going to be a huge struggle now. We need to win at Portsmouth, or it's probably all over. Time is running out, and we can't afford anymore slip ups like this one.

Liverpool: Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Pellegrino, Warnock (Riise); Gerrard, Alonso (Biscan); Nunez (Cisse), Morientes, Garcia:

Agree or disagree? Email me at dave@liverpoolway.co.uk

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