Tottenham vs. Liverpool: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match

The Jurgen Klopp era got off to a steady start for Liverpool as the Reds earned a 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday after Divock Origi missed the game's best chance in his first league start.

Liverpool fans will take heart in earning a clean sheet in North London in Klopp's first match in charge of the club, especially considering the visiting outfit were hit by major absences in attack.

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With doubts lingering over Daniel Sturridge's knee and Christian Benteke also out injured, Origi was entrusted as the lone striker to make his first Premier League start since moving to Liverpool.

And Klopp's decision to give the Belgian youngster his chance up front almost paid off immediately as Origi thundered a header off Hugo Lloris' crossbar inside 10 minutes.

Origi met Emre Can's flick-on from the corner, but Spurs somehow managed to scramble the ball away as it cracked the underside of the bar—although Spanish football writer Sergi Dominguez thought the forward fell short:

But after an early blitz on the home side's goal, it was Liverpool who started to welcome a raft of pressure, and Martin Skrtel was called upon to play a bigger role in keeping Spurs at bay.

Klopp will have been pleased to see his defence stand up to Tottenham's assault prior to half-time when a pair of close-range efforts from Harry Kane and Dele Alli were well rejected by Simon Mignolet and Mamadou Sakho.

It's just as well the Reds back line was standing up to the task, too, as it became clear the absences of Sturridge and Benteke would mean scoring opportunities were likely to be less frequent.

The home side's tails were up heading in at the break, but Liverpool writer Jim Boardman insisted the effect of Klopp's arrival was already clear for all to see:

If Klopp's hair-raising days at Borussia Dortmund were any blueprint, Liverpool fans have been led to expect exciting times ahead and attacking football to the utmost under his tutelage.

If that's to be the case, though, it will be in stark contrast to what was seen during a drab second half at White Hart Lane, and DW Sports were right to note Liverpool's debutant would be happy with a share of the spoils:

Mousa Dembele and Alli looked like a comfortable pairing in the middle of the park for Mauricio Pochettino's side, but Kane appeared frustrated with the lack of opportunities finding their way to his end of the pitch.

And just as Liverpool's positives to take from the match were the performances of centre-backs Skrtel and Sakho, Ben McAleer of WhoScored.com asserted Jan Vertonghen as Spurs' best player in defence:

That perhaps summed up the balance of the tie as both teams produced just seven shots on target altogether, per WhoScored.com, with nothing to separate the European hopefuls.

The result means two teams battling to edge away from their mid-table obscurity remain lumped among the middle of the standings but equally content to settle with any result but a defeat.

Klopp can now look forward to making his Anfield debut against Rubin Kazan in the Europa League on Thursday in the first of three consecutive home fixtures for Liverpool, who have a chance to claw back some points.

It's the opposite for Tottenham as they head to Anderlecht next week before traveling to Bournemouth upon making their return to domestic football next Sunday.

Post-Match Reaction

Liverpool stopper Mignolet commented on Klopp's immediate impact on the Reds, as shared by the Premier League's official Twitter account:

Pochettino thought his side were clearly the better team and would have won the match had it not been for Mignolet's heroics. As shared by the Liverpool Echo's Neil Jones, he said:

Via Arash Hekmat of the Daily Mirror, Klopp said he was "satisfied" with what he saw from his team, even if the goalless draw wasn't the result he had hoped for in his first match:

"

There were many full-throttle moments in the game; I'm completely satisfied for the moment. This was a good first step; I can work with this.

First 20 minutes, I had not so much influence in the game because it was very loud.

For today it's OK. It's not my dream result, but it's OK.

"