Liverpool 3-1 Tottenham: Sami Hyypia bids farewell to Anfield

No-one would begrude Sami Hyypia his emotional finale and yet there was still a sense of anti-climax at Anfield in the fact that the focus yesterday was entirely on him.

The giant defender left the field in tears at the end, consumed by the stark knowledge that his career at one of the biggest clubs in the world was finally over after 10 years and 464 appearances.

The sight of him sobbing was sobering enough. Such is his strength of character, such is his resolve, that until yesterday it was hard to imagine anything reducing this Anfield legend to tears.

Yet sobering too was the fact that - having lost just five matches in all competitions in a season that began in July - Liverpool entered this final game with no trophies and nothing to play for.

The next biggest cheer after the many directed towards Hyypia was for the announcement that Newcastle had lost and were down. Sad really.

Hyypia will leave knowing that this was his best chance of getting a Premier League medal in all his years at Anfield. When a side loses only twice in the league, SURELY they should at least be scrapping for the title until the final day.

But despite their resilience, Liverpool made too many mistakes over the campaign by drawing too many matches - seven at Anfield for goodness sake.

And their line-up on the final day told of another grave mistake. Of the six signings manager Rafa Benitez made last summer, not one started against Spurs, and the biggest of those signings was actually playing for the opposition.

Benitez spent £40million on those signings, and yet not one made a major impact on their season. If they are to challenge next time, then that simply can't be allowed to happen this summer.

Keane showed what might have been with a second-half goal that briefly offered Tottenham some hope in the game. If only he had done that a little bit more in his short tenure at Anfield, the story might have been very different.

Yesterday, though, was not a time for recrimination but simply one to reflect on what Hyypia achieved in his decade as a Liverpool player.

The fans showed what they thought with a remarkable ovation, with some even rounding on Benitez when he refused to throw the substitute into the game.

Hyypia finally got on for the last seven minutes, but by then the game was over. A lame first half was notable only for some good work by skipper Steven Gerrard and then a simple Fernando Torres finish after some shocking Spurs defending.

He got between the ballwatching Vedran Corluka and Alan Hutton and headed into the roof of the net.

Liverpool extended their lead on 65 minutes when a fine passing move eventually saw Dirk Kuyt's wayward shot turned into the net by the hapless Hutton. Keane made it interesting, but then a great ball from Gerrard gave Yossi Benayoun the chance to finish, and the Hyypia party could begin.

It seemed churlish in the extreme that the defender didn't start the match or wasn't put on earlier, but he still almost managed to score when his header in the final minute was well saved by Gomes.

It would have been a fitting sendoff for the Finnish defender, but as it is, he will have to reflect - as has been typical of much of his Anfield career - on a season that might have been.

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