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Knock: Gareth Bale suffered a heavy tackle by Charlie Adam and was substituted at half-time

It was the only talking point of a mundane game and Villas-Boas, who already has injury worries over Rafael van der Vaart, Kyle Walker and Scott Parker ahead of his first campaign at White Hart Lane, will be hoping Bale has not suffered any lasting damage.

Liverpool made a bright start in sweltering conditions and they had the first two opportunities of a game that was played out in front of 42,723 crowd; both Joe Cole and Jonjo Shelvey tested Brad Friedel with shots from outside the area.

Yet it was Tottenham who came closest to opening the scoring, when Gylfi Sigurdsson – the man whom Brendan Rodgers wanted to bring to Anfield – slipped in Harry Kane but the young striker dragged his effort just across the face of goal.

The pattern of the contest was disrupted shortly after, though, when Adam tangled with Bale, his ugly tackle leaving the Welshman writhing in agony.

Hacked away: Benoit Assou-Ekotto clears the ball from Stewart Downing

Referee Jose Carlos Rivero showed great lenience in refusing to brandish a card, when the Tottenham bench implored that he be booked.

Bale required treatment for a couple of minutes and there is little doubt that the incident shook him up, as he spent the remainder of the half on the fringes, occasionally telling his team-mates not to pass to him as he tried to run off the knock.

Fancy seeing you here: Brendan Rodgers and Andre Villas-Boas

Despite his movement being limited, Bale actually provided the best opportunity of the first half; his right-footed cross found Aaron Lennon via a glancing header from Kane but, somehow, the England winger shot against the post from three yards in the 44th minute.

As the teams walked off, there were two interesting exchanges: Rodgers and Sigurdsson strolled away together, exchanging pleasantries. Further away from them, Villas-Boas marched towards Adam and headed down the tunnel with him, jabbering into his ear.

Gripping affair? Jake Livermore grabs Charlie Adam

Not surprisingly, Bale failed to appear for the second half but he was not the only one. Witch pitchside temperatures reaching 100 degrees, both managers made wholesale substitutions and that, inevitably, led to a fracturing of play.

Clear chances were few and far between after the break and the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock was when Martin Skrtel thumped a 20-yard drive at Friedel in the 55th minute, having carried the ball impressively up the field.

If local supporters were disappointed that there were no goals, they did at least get a first glimpse of Liverpool’s new 11million striker Fabio Borini, along with England captain Steven Gerrard and the much talked about Andy Carroll. Despite their introduction, they failed to create a chance.

Thump: Martin Skrtl smashes the ball away