Defeat that will give Reds great self-belief

EVEN IN defeat, Liverpool showed they are in this title race. To show the resilience to compete against Spurs with 10 and then nine men, and even create chances to win it, should give them enormous belief. Yes, it must be gutting for the dressing room to lose to an unlucky own-goal right at the end – particularly as the PGMOL last night admitted they wrongly disallowed Luis Diaz’s goal in the first-half.

But once the dust has settled, it was a phenomenal effort. Sometimes you can take more from a loss than an easy win, and Liverpool have repeatedly shown this season they are fighters.

One factor is the return of Virgil van Dijk, who is looking really sharp and back to his best. Those who had written him off and think the best was behind him? Not in a million years. He looked comfortable with the armband, having taken over the captaincy from Jordan Henderson. He grabbed responsibility. He was a magnet to the ball and the determination he showed for every block and header was fantastic.

It’s almost as if he wants to make up for his red card at Newcastle. It certainly didn’t look last night like the captaincy is a burden for him.

And with Manchester City also losing, Liverpool will know they haven’t lost ground at the top.

With 11 men, I don’t think there is much doubt Liverpool will have got a better result. The Curtis Jones red card was an example of what frustrates people who have played the game about referees. The officials have looked at the still of Jones’s challenge and, in the aftermath of someone being injured, have decided it’s a sending-off. They’ve based their verdict on the outcome of the challenge, rather than what actually happened.

I understand what Jones did. He went for a tackle without any malice, and slipped as he meant to control the ball. Of course, we don’t want anyone injured and if someone commits a reckless tackle or is out of control, they have to be punished. But Jones’s tackle was neither of those things and I think you’d get broad agreement from ex-professionals.

If the ‘victim’, Yves Bissouma, looks back at it tomorrow, he wouldn’t want to get a red card for doing what Jones did.

I’ve got less sympathy for Diogo Jota, who was clearly fired up when he came on and made more than one lunge when on a yellow card.

He didn’t touch Destiny Udogie. which is why Jota was upset with his second booking, but he dived in, and it hadn’t been the first time. The referee had let him get away with that before.