Spurs 1 – 2 Liverpool

Liverpool scrambled to a 2-1 win at nine-man Tottenham, somehow surviving a chaotic finale which saw Richarlison pull one back and Cristian Romero shown a red for kicking out at Ibrahima Konate as Spurs chased a last-gasp leveller.

It had looked routine for Liverpool, with Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike goals putting them in control, following Xavi Simons’ first-half sending off for putting his studs into Virgil van Dijk’s calf.

But with memories of Liverpool’s recent collapse at Leeds from 2-0 to draw 3-3 fresh in the memory, there was late drama as Richarlison added to his impressive tally against the Reds and then saw Ibrahima Konate block to prevent him converting a quickfire double to rescue a point for Spurs.

With the home crowd – incensed by referee John Brooks throughout the evening – roaring their side forwards, Romero kicked out at Konate as they tangled on the floor. The Spurs centre-back had been booked earlier in the game for bumping into the referee as he protested a decision. Even missing two players, Spurs threatened, with Wilson Odobert drawing Alisson into a full-stretch save with the last kick of the game.

Liverpool nerves had been jangling but the full-time whistle brought relief and fifth place in the Premier League. Injury to Isak in the process of scoring from a first Premier League assist from Florian Wirtz will be a concern but not as much as their inability to shut down games when they have the advantage.

Isak had to hobble off after Micky van de Ven appeared to catch his ankle as he slid in to block the shot. Isak himself had been a half-time sub for injured right-back Conor Bradley.

Spurs had come close to levelling in between Isak’s slammed finish and Ekitike’s towering header, with Randal Kolo Muani’s shot deflecting up off Milos Kerkez, over Alisson and onto the face of the Liverpool bar.

But sub Richarlison set up a thrilling finish to the game with his sharp finish after Van Dijk had missed an attempted clearance. It was his eighth goal involvement against Liverpool, the Brazilian’s favourite Premier League opponent.

After a bad display at Nottingham Forest last weekend, their supporters appreciated the fight on Saturday night. Ultimately, though, it was another home defeat for Spurs. It was their 11th in the league of 2025 – a new, unwanted club record. They are down in 13th.

Slot encouraged by performance amid the chaos

Liverpool boss Arne Slot:

“The thing in football, you always remember the last few minutes the most. And they were the worst minutes of our total game. If I can calm down a little bit and erase that from my memory, I think there’s a lot to like also in our performance.

“In the end, I’ve stood here many, many, many times that I liked our performance a lot, and we weren’t able to get the three points. Now, for a large part, I like the performance, and we have the three points, so I have to tell myself that anyway.

“We didn’t keep the ball when we had the ball. We kicked it away, throw it away. And they went for the duels, they got a few free kicks, got a few throw-ins. It became very hectic and chaotic in the end. And the moments when we had the ball, instead of just keeping it and making it big and play the ball from foot to foot, I think we lost every single second ball.”

Simons’ red card – The verdicts

Gary Neville at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:

“Virgil van Dijk is six foot four and 15 stone. If it is the other way around, it’s a leg breaker.

“Thomas Frank is having a whinge about it, but none of the Tottenham players are complaining. The ones who have seen it are going ‘what are you doing?'”

Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp:

“Xavi Simons does something so ridiculous that I don’t know what he’s thinking.

“He’s got it completely wrong. He’s [gone] into the back of him and catches his Achilles. It’s a stupid challenge that constitutes a red card.”

Sky Sports’ Daniel Sturridge:

“It’s unfortunate. It does look worse in slow motion.

“He’s just got it wrong in how he’s gone about it. I don’t think he’s a malicious type of player who would try and hurt an international team-mate. He’s got it completely wrong.”

Story of the match in stats…

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