Jordan Henderson passed another test vs Tottenham Hotspur

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Jordan Henderson faced arguably his toughest test in the holding role against Tottenham Hotspur. He just about passed it.

The Liverpool captain found himself in the role after Fabinho’s injury and has performed wonderfully, since. In fact, the team as a whole have performed better.

The Reds managed just two clean-sheets with Fabinho in the role. The 1-0 victory over Tottenham means Liverpool have eight clean-sheets since Henderson replaced him.

It means that, statistically, Henderson, who arrived for £20m in 2011, should probably keep his place even after Fabinho returns.

But one thing Henderson hadn’t faced until now was a genuinely attacking midfield. Every team has instead filled their midfield with more defensive midfielders. That means Henderson focuses on possession rather than stopping players.

Tottenham presented the alternative, however, with their midfield of Harry Winks, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen.

That’s a midfield looking to break with the ball, rather than destroyers or hard workers. It would be a test of Henderson’s ability to play the defensive part of the holding role.

He passed it, though. In the first half, in particular, Henderson pressed and broke up play when he had to. He made sure Spurs had no possession in front of Liverpool’s defence.

The captain also managed to pick his times to break forward and it led to the Liverpool goal. Henderson pushed on and won a header on the edge of the box and Roberto Firmino scores seconds later.

That’s a wonderful intelligence there, knowing when to pick your moments even against a threatening midfield.

The only problem with the game was how Spurs controlled the ball up the pitch in the second half. They broke consistently and the game was very open.

Now, they still failed to score. But it’s something you would imagine Fabinho would stop, given it’s his ultimate strength. Those last 20 minutes called out for a player like him. But then, this was a midfield suited to attacking and Henderson had a tough task stopping it.

So he passes the test but the absence of Fabinho was, a little inevitably, felt in the end.