Tottenham vs. Liverpool: 6 Things We Learned

Tottenham continued their return to form with a 2-1 win over Liverpool on Wednesday night that moves them up to fifth in the Premier League table.

It's Spurs' second league win in four days, whereas the Reds have only won one of their last six.

Here are six things we learned from the clash at White Hart Lane.

Dawson Might Just Have a Future at Tottenham

In the summer after Andre Villas-Boas took over at Tottenham, it looked as though Michael Dawson's days at the club were numbered.

Despite being club captain, the centre-back was on the verge of being sold to Queens Park Rangers, only for the move to break down at the 11th hour.

Having barely featured all season, the English defender has now started Tottenham's last two league games, which they have both won. Dawson made 11 clearances against Liverpool as he helped stop the Premier League's top scorer, Luis Suarez, adding to his tally.

Talk will inevitably turn to Dawson joining QPR again in January now that former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is in charge at Loftus Road, but he has shown that he may still have a future at Spurs.

Downing Is No Full-Back

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has attempted to make use of £20 million signing Stewart Downing by converting him into a left-back this season, although the results of the experiment have been decidedly mixed.

Against Tottenham, the man who formed his career as a winger was not able to handle the threat of Aaron Lennon down the right flank.

The former Villa man only made one tackle and two clearances at White Hart Lane and his attacking contribution was ineffective too, as he failed to complete a single cross.

Home Fans Always Get Goals at the Lane

Spurs may still be wrestling with the inconsistency which has prevented them from mounting a truly convincing title challenge in the last few seasons, but they have rarely had trouble scoring in front of their own fans.

The 1-0 defeat to Wigan at the start of the month is now the only time they have failed to score at home in their last 32 Premier League games at White Hart Lane, a run which stretches back to March 2011.

Two of their next three home games in the league come against two of the division's lowest-scoring teams—Stoke and Sunderland—so if they maintain that form they can expect to pick up maximum points.

No Points for Possession

Rodgers has embarked upon the project of turning Liverpool into an efficient passing side, and he has been successful in that respect. The problem is that his players are too often unable to convert that superior possession into goals.

The Spurs game was the perfect case in point. The Reds had 65 percent of the possession away from home, but they only managed one more shot than Tottenham's 16 and had two fewer than their hosts' seven throughout the match.

Despite four Liverpool players making more than 50 passes throughout the game (none of Tottenham's players hit that mark), the Reds still left north London as the losing side.

Bale More Important Than Ever for Spurs

Gareth Bale's own goal may mean he has now scored as many league goals for Liverpool this season as Raheem Sterling, Nuri Sahin, Martin Skrtel and Jose Enrique, but that was overshadowed by his exploits at the other end.

The Welshman has now scored six goals in his last 10 league games, while his assist for Aaron Lennon's seventh-minute opener was his first of the campaign.

With Jermain Defoe continuing as Tottenham's lone striker, something which has been the case even when Emmanuel Adebayor has been available, the importance of Bale's attacking contribution is arguably now more important to Tottenham than it has ever been.

Suarez Needs Support

It is just as well for Liverpool that Luis Suarez has already hit double figures in terms of league goals this season, because he is not getting much help from his teammates.

The Uruguayan has hit 10 goals in the competition so far. The next highest, Steven Gerrard, has two.

Liverpool's reliance on Suarez was again in evidence at Tottenham, where the No. 7 had three of his side's five shots on target.

Gerrard and Jose Enrique registered the other two, but none of them were able to beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, so it was left to Gareth Bale's own goal to stop Spurs keeping what would have been only their second clean sheet of the league campaign.