Tottenham...1 Liverpool...1: Steven Gerrard is unlikely to have enjoyed the past few days. When the Liverpool captain rejected a move to Chelsea, he can hardly have imagined Michael Owen would soon depart for Madrid. The midfielder might have been expected to run across London after this match in search of Roman Abramovich to see whether a transfer to Stamford Bridge were still possible.

Gerrard must have assumed when he pledged his loyalty to Liverpool that the club would find a way of keeping Owen, the team's leading scorer for the past seven seasons. The 24-year-old admitted to feeling "shocked" that the striker - "a massive player" - has gone. Yet as Gerrard talked about his decision to stay, there was no sense of regret.

That ought to send relief sweeping through Anfield, because Gerrard would be a bigger loss than anyone. With Danny Murphy also sold, Gerrard has watched the disappearance of two local players with whom he had forged a bond.

"I'm on my own," he said playfully, before making it clear that he has no intention of following them through the exit. "Time will tell whether we will miss Michael and whether my decision to stay was right," he said. "But I'm confident in the decision I've made. I won't be changing my mind now or at Christmas."

That places, in Gerrard's words, "a lot of responsibility" on Milan Baros and Djibril Cisse. The Czech never came near his Euro 2004 form and Cisse's performance was promising without being outstanding, featuring a well-taken goal that might have come from Owen's manual.

The Frenchman looked far more than a box player, showing a capacity to bring team-mates into play and a willingness to take on opponents, even if his runs were largely checked. He and Baros need to develop an understanding and it was hard to escape the feeling that Rafael Benitez needs another striker.

The squad is without last season's regular forward line, Emile Heskey having left for Birmingham, and Liverpool finished with Harry Kewell and the inexperienced Florent Sinama-Pongolle up front.

Liverpool might have scored more in the first half than the goal Cisse steered in from a Jamie Carragher knock-down. Cisse later gave a shirt to Gerard Houllier, the former Liverpool manager who set up his move and was here for French television.

Most fans at the interval would have put their shirt on an away win. Liverpool had been the dominant and more fluent team, Gerrard and Dietmar Hamann controlling midfield. There remains a caution about the team and Steve Finnan is a temporary measure at right midfield, but it needed good defending by Noureddine Naybet to save Spurs. The Moroccan impressed in the first half before becoming ragged.

Tottenham picked up after the interval, passing more accurately. Jacques Santini seems set to place a surprising emphasis on long balls and the tactic saw Frederic Kanoute set up Jermain Defoe for an equaliser they just about deserved as Liverpool's performance dipped.

Starting with six debutants, Tottenham were never likely to be polished. Sean Davis suggested he will strengthen the midfield, but Spurs need to get support to their strikers and lack not just midfield goalscorers but penetrative width.

Johnnie Jackson put in two good crosses but did not look as if he will consistently beat full-backs, and Jamie Redknapp offered little out of position on the right. It was as well for Spurs that Defoe was lively.

Defoe, with his quick feet and instinct for goal, is the team's great hope. He mostly had to feed off scraps but never gave up and had already made a good chance for himself before he scored sharply.

"He's the closest thing I've seen to Ian Wright," said Redknapp. "Like Ian, he knows he's a great player and he'll be special for Tottenham for years to come - as long as we can keep hold of him."

Liverpool can feel relieved at managing that with Gerrard.