Ange Postecoglou's opinion on Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray sums up Tottenham's problems

Ange Postecoglou's excitement about the future for Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray was brought crashing back to reality in the present during the heavy defeat at Liverpool.

selected a team for Sunday's match that showed his focus is mainly on this Thursday night's Europa League semi-final first leg against Bodo/Glimt. Within the starting XI, the Australian named two teenagers in the midfield trio in and - in what could be a long-term future pairing for the club - alongside vice-captain James Maddison.

header from James Maddison's corner early in the game gave Liverpool a shock but had just four minutes to hold their lead before Luiz Diaz scored from close range following a VAR offside check. Liverpool surged ahead through Alexis Mac Allister's powerful strike and Cody Gakpo's clinical finish.

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Mohamed Salah's low effort and a own goal in the second half completed the demolition as Liverpool won the title in their own back yard.

For Tottenham it was a case of men against boys with the two midfielders both showing their inexperience at times against Arne Slot's side.

Our Spurs correspondent Rob Guest was at the match and handed Gray a three in his player ratings with the review: "Handed a rare chance in midfield and found it very tough at times against one of the Premier League's best midfield trios. Szoboszlai ran off him to tee up Diaz's opener and then he was outmuscled by Gravenberch for Mac Allister's goal midway through the first half, although it's fair to say it wasn't a great pass from Mathys Tel. Replaced at the break.£

Bergvall got a five with the report: "Active in midfield but produced a poor header from a corner that resulted in Gakpo making it three for the hosts. Kept going despite the scoreline as he tried to get the team moving forward."

Tottenham fans have been calling for Gray to finally get a chance in midfield, having spent much of the season filling in at centre-back during the absence of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, while also turning out as a full-back on both flanks at times.

While he impressed for Leeds in the midfield last season in huge games like the FA Cup tie against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, on this day it was a tough ask against the new champions and Postecoglou admitted that when speaking about his rejigged side for the encounter.

"We knew the challenge today was going to be a big one," said the Australian. "We had a really young midfield with Lucas and Archie and you're asking a massive task of them. Change three of the back four, all of these kind of things logically tell you it's going to be a tough day, but when you're facing the best team, and on such a massive occasion, it was always going to be a huge ask for us and it proved too much."

The young duo are not ready yet to pair up and the problem for Postecoglou is that Tottenham's recruitment strategy is one of signings teenagers for the future, and it's something he has publicly endorsed.

While there's no doubting the potential of teenage signings like Bergvall and Gray, or Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert, or players like Luka Vuskovic and Yang Min-hyeok, Spurs cannot be expected to compete at the same level as a team like Liverpool right now if that is going to be their main policy.

Gray was Tottenham's second most expensive transfer of last summer but at £40m is very much still a work in progress at only 19-years-old. That Postecoglou knew it would be a tough day with two teenagers in the midfield, with another on the left wing, shows that £108.5 million of talent at Spurs means a very different thing than at other clubs who buy players for the now, rather than as a project.

The need to call upon inexperienced youngsters, who will naturally take time to settle into the level required of them and learn what it requires, means a longer path to success than many of Spurs' rivals.

When Postecoglou said recently that the club got it wrong with their squad earlier this season, leading to the injury crisis, you have to wonder whether he meant the type of transfers - although he continues to back the teenage squad overhaul - or whether he should have made more use of certain players remains to be seen.

For now, Postecoglou will have to make allowances for a young midfield that looked overawed and overmatched at Anfield and it could be a future manager who enjoys the benefit of Spurs' current transfer policy.