In one of the most dramatic games of the season so far, Tottenham Hotspur produced a last-gasp winner to beat nine-man Liverpool 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
Heung-Min Son opened the scoring for the hosts in the first half, before Cody Gakpo equalised for Liverpool in first-half stoppage time.
The winner came in the six minute of second-half injury time, when Joel Matip sliced his clearance high into his own net, to give Spurs all three points.
The game began with the tempo that is to be expected from these two sides, with some slick passing and aggressive pressing. The best chance of the opening quarter fell to the visitors, when Spurs keeper Vicario had to be at his best to deny Gakpo and Andrew Robertson in quick succession.
The turning point of the half came in the 25th minute, when Curtis Jones went in for a tackle of Yves Bissouma. A yellow card was initially given, but after a VAR review, the English midfielder was sent off for dangerous play.
Spurs came forward with vigour after this, with a quick passing move concluding with Richarlison blazing his shot over the bar.
The breakthrough wasn’t too long away though, as in the 36th minute, James Maddison played an immaculate through-ball to Richarlison, who set up Son to finish into an empty net.
This wasn’t the first time Liverpool had gone down this season, with The Reds having earned 9 points from losing positions in the league coming into this game.
Their reaction was quick, with Mohamed Salah playing Luis Diaz through. The Colombian held off his defender and finished expertly past Vicario, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. Replays showed that the decision was touch-and-go, with Jurgen Klopp being rightfully aggrieved.
On the stroke of half-time, the Liverpool pressure told. A ball into the box following a set-piece was headed across the goal by Virgil van Dijk, and Gakpo controlled before smashing the ball in on the turn. The striker was injured from a tackle a couple of minutes earlier, but still maintained his poise to draw his side level.
Klopp’s men could have gone into the break with the most unlikeliest of leads, when Salah played an incredible pass through to Diaz, who put his shot wide.
Spurs started the second half with much more gusto, drawing world-class saves from Allisson. It seemed only a matter of time before they would break through.
With 20 minutes to go, Diogo Jota, who had come on at half-time for the injured Gakpo, was shown two yellow cards in as many minutes, both for reckless fouls on Destiny Udogie.
With only eight outfield players remaining, Klopp wrung the changes to shore things up at the back. Ibrahima Konate, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo, with the only two attacking outlets in Salah and Diaz being brought off.
Spurs were struggling to find their way past Liverpool’s 5-3 shape, putting balls into the box from wide areas that were being easily dealt with.
Just as the game seemed destined to end in a stalemate, Pedro Porro found some space on the right in the box, and his fizzed low ball into the centre was met by a horribly-miscued clearance by Matip. Allisson could do nothing, as the ball flew high into the net.
With this victory, Spurs move into second place in the Premier League table, behind Manchester City. With City and Liverpool both losing this weekend, the two North London clubs, Arsenal and Tottenham, remain the only two unbeaten sides in the league this season.
Player Ratings
Tottenham Hotspur
Vicario – 7
Pedro Porro – 8
Christian Romero – 7
Micky Van de Ven – 7
Destiny Udogie – 7
Pape Sarr – 7
Yves Bissouma – 8
Richarlison – 8
James Maddison – 8
Dejan Kulusevksi – 6
Heung Min-Son – 7
Substitutes
Manor Solomon – 7
Liverpool
Allisson Becker – 8
Joe Gomez – 6
Virgil van Dijk – 7
Joel Matip – 5
Andrew Robertson – 7
Curtis Jones – 4
Alexis Mac Callister – 6
Dominik Szoboszlai – 7
Mohamed Salah – 7
Cody Gakpo – 7
Luis Diaz – 6
Substitutes
Diogo Jota – 4
Ibrahima Konate – 6
Trent Alexander Arnold – 5
Wataru Endo – 6.
