Both managers were left satisfied as Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool played out a goalless draw at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Liverpool started the game brightly, with Divock Origi heading against the crossbar in the first ten minutes, the ball bouncing agonisingly close to the line.
New manager Jürgen Klopp, and the Liverpool faithful, will have been delighted with their positive start at White Hart Lane. James Milner and Adam Lallana made sure the Spurs back four had no time on the ball, with full-back Kyle Walker looking nervous early on.
Emre Can, fresh from his appearances for Germany during the international break, was lively against a Tottenham midfield missing the influential Eric Dier.
However, as the game progressed, Tottenham looked far more lively as Liverpool looked to catch their breath following a full-throttle start.
Clinton N’Jie, an early substitute for Nacer Chadli, and Harry Kane both saw efforts well saved by Simon Mignolet in the Reds goal whilst recent England international Dele Alli saw a shot blocked by Mamadou Sakho.
Following the intenrval, it became increasingly clear that both sides would settle for a draw, Kane having the only effort of any note in the last 20 minutes.
Milner could have seen red on another day, following a number of combative tackles on Danny Rose in particular, but both Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino were left happy with their teams’ displays.
Pochettino happy with Spurs intensity
Pochettino was happy with a number of aspects from his side, but was left more than a little disappointed that he couldn’t inflict a first defeat on Klopp at White Hart Lane, having “created four good chances to score”.
The early injury to Belgian winger Chadli came when Origi hit the crossbar, Liverpool’s only notable shot on target with Pochettino noting that “the only clear [chance] Liverpool had came when we were down to ten men”.
Fixtures are coming thick and fast for Pochettino’s side, with trips to Anderlecht in the Europa League and Bournemouth in domestic action in the coming days, and the Argentine boss was reflective on ways for his side to improve, stating “in football you need to be clinical…we weren’t”.
However, Pochettino concluded he was “very happy with the performance” as his side remained unbeaten in eight league games.
Not a dream result for Klopp
Former Borussia Dortmund boss Klopp was happy to get off the mark in his first game as Liverpool manager, with the German manager especially pleased with the first 20 minutes, and how his side “were pressing and…very aggressive”. However, he did admit that while a point was "OK", it was not his "dream result".
With a home fixture against Russian side Rubin Kazan coming up in the Europa League on Thursday, Klopp will be looking to get his first victory at Anfield as his Liverpool side looks to “get stronger” following an eventful couple of weeks.
A result leaving both fans happy
Both Tottenham and Liverpool fans will have headed home fairly happy, following a tricky fixture on paper for both sides.
With important European fixtures coming up for both, Pochettino and Klopp will be looking to build on an eventful and promising goalless draw on Saturday afternoon in North London.