Last-gasp Kane penalty earns Tottenham draw at Liverpool
Harry Kane scored his 100th Premier League goal from the penalty spot in stoppage time to snatch a point for Tottenham Hotspur in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday evening.
Mohamed Salah capitalized on a mistake from Eric Dier to put Liverpool in front in the third minute, taking his tally to 20 league goals for the season.
Substitute Victor Wanyama thundered home an equalizer 10 minutes from time before Kane missed from the penalty spot in the 87th minute.
In the most dramatic of finales, Salah thought he had won it in the 91st minute, only for Spurs to win another penalty which Kane converted to leave his team fifth in the table, two points behind third-place Liverpool.
“It is difficult to get every decision right,” said Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino. “When they are right and show character I needed to congratulate them.”
Defender Virgil van Dijk, returning to the Liverpool starting lineup, did a fine job of keeping an unchanged Spurs quiet for the majority of the first half.
Liverpool’s task was made easier by their early opener. Dier, in attempting to make an interception, diverted the ball into the path of Salah, putting the Egypt international clean through to break the deadlock.
Tottenham’s only shot on target in the first 45 minutes came via the boot of Mousa Dembele, but his half-volley was easily saved by Loris Karius.
Spurs improved after the break and almost equalized through Son Heung-min in the 58th minute, but Karius stood tall to make the block.
The visitors equalized out of the blue when Wanyama thundered the ball into the net from distance before the drama unfolded.
Kane’s tame penalty was easily saved by Karius after the England striker had been felled in the box, before Salah danced his way past two Spurs defenders LIVERPOOL’S EGYPTIAN FORWARD Mohamed Salah (11) moves in to score the Reds’ second goal – his second tally of the game – past Tottenham ’keeper Hugo Lloris (1) in the 90th minute of the teams’ 2-2 draw in Premier League action last night. and fired into the net to score what looked likely to be the winner.
However, the linesman spotted a foul by Van Dijk on substitute Erik Lamela in the box, giving Kane the chance to make amends.
“The softest touch in the whole game decides the game,” Klopp said. “It is not a penalty.”
Kane duly converted from the spot with virtually the last kick off the game to silence Anfield.
In other Premiership action on Sunday, Luka Milivojevic’s second-half penalty secured a point for Crystal Palace as it recovered from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw at home to fellow struggler Newcastle United.
Mohamed Diame gave Newcastle the lead from a corner midway through the first half when he slotted the ball in at the far post after Ayoze Perez’s cross from the right had gone through a packed goalmouth.
Palace equalized 10 minutes into the second half when it was awarded a penalty for Ciaran Clark’s foul on Christian Benteke, and Milivojevic converted.
Newcastle might have been two goals up at halftime, but Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey made two good saves in quick succession, blocking Brazilian winger Kenedy’s shot with his chest then diving to his left to palm away Perez’s effort from the rebound.
Palace, which came close to a winner several times in a frantic final half hour, climbed to 14th on 27 points, three clear of the relegation zone and two ahead of Newcastle in 16th.
Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho offered only the briefest explanation as to why he dropped the club’s record signing Paul Pogba for Saturday’s 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town at Old Trafford.
The Frenchman had been criticized for his midweek performance in the 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley, during which he was substituted in the 63rd minute after having an animated conversation with Mourinho on the touchline.
On Saturday, the manager refused to go into details about what was said, but a video was widely shared on social media showing the Portuguese gesticulating at the Frenchman.
The upshot was Pogba dropped to the bench for the first time since joining United for 89 million pounds ($125.67 million) in August 2016, with 21-year-old midfielder Scott McTominay named in his place.
Asked why the Pogba had been left out, Mourinho said: “Just change, try different qualities with different players.”
Pogba eventually came on as a 65th-minute substitute for Jesse Lingard in a disjointed United performance that still saw United close the gap on leader Manchester City to 13 points. (Reuters)