LIVERPOOL....2 TOTTENHAM...1
Trent Alexander-Arnold admitted he miscued his cross, gave it too much air. Mohamed Salah said he was fortunate with his header.
‘A lucky punch,’ Jurgen Klopp called it. Hugo Lloris made a giant blunder, pushing the ball out into a packed six-yard box. toby Alderweireld ran the ball into his own net. And, really, none of that matters. All that matters is Liverpool found a way. In the final minute of a game they could easily have lost, they somehow wrested the points from tottenham to return to the top of the table.
there is no guarantee this exalted state will last until the end — hell, it probably won’t last beyond Wednesday when Manchester City play their game in hand at home to Cardiff — but the deeper Liverpool go into the season in this position, the more pressure they exert, the more chance of forcing a misstep from Pep Guardiola’s men. If the Premier League title is delivered to Anfield this season, the last 30 minutes here may be seen as the day it became destined.
there are many big moments over 38 fixtures, but something about the clocks going forward focuses the mind. After that, the consequences of any victory, any loss of points, seem accentuated. As this game entered its final third, there was a real sense of import inside Anfield.
Liverpool, leading 1-0, had a single objective in that period: to hang on. tottenham were getting stronger, the locals were getting nervous. Understandably so. Spurs are a good team and since halftime had been in the ascendancy. this would be a good win. the margin of victory did not matter.
Liverpool did not need the emphasis of a second goal; they needed a big round zero next to the visitors’ name. Up in the stand, banned from the touchline for his outburst at turf Moor, Mauricio Pochettino made his play.
On came Son Hueng-min for Davinson Sanchez, the back-three changed to four, the forward line bolstered. A minute later, Spurs were level. Anfield was stunned into eerie silence.
they probably felt, as we all did, that here was the title slipping inexorably away. A draw would leave Manchester City top on goal difference with a game in hand.
At that point, tottenham broke clear in search of the win. And not just the standard counter-attack, either. this was two against one, Moussa Sissoko supported by Son, against Virgil van Dijk. the defender’s positioning was nothing short of brilliant, adding to his case to
be crowned Footballer of the Year. He held them up, he cut them off, Sissoko felt uncertain of finding Son so went it alone, and shot over.
Goals win matches, obviously. Yet no one should undervalue Van Dijk’s role in this victory. Had Tottenham scored then, all would surely have been lost. Instead, Liverpool were still hopeful when a corner was won in the 90th minute. Alexander-Arnold curled it in. Cleared. The ball fell to the outstanding Andrew Robertson, he played Alexander-Arnold back in and called for the return. It did not come.
Instead, the young man sent a loopy one direct to the back post, where Salah was lurking. It had not been his best game but this is why Klopp keeps him on. He makes things happen, as the best players do.
Salah headed the ball back towards goal where Lloris should have gathered it. Instead he pushed it against Alderweireld and the rebound bobbled over the line. As quiet as Anfield had been when Tottenham equalised, so it was loud now.
‘This means more’ is the latest marketing spiel around Anfield, and there was a sense that this was more than just three points, too. This was a day on which champions find a way. Not the prettiest way, not the bestcalculated way; just a way. At this stage, nothing else matters.
Just to clarify, mind, finding a way is not the same as getting lucky.
Liverpool are not lucky, most weeks at least. They are very, very good. A little nervous, yes, now the bell has signalled the last lap, but there is real quality throughout this team. Take Robertson. In the Premier League era, the most creative defenders have all been left backs. Andy Hinchcliffe recorded 11 assists for Everton in 1994-95, so did Leighton Baines in 2010-11. Robertson, another left back, is now on nine in this campaign.
What a buy he has been. There were a few on his trail at Hull City, but Liverpool paid the price and have been rewarded handsomely.
He made a superb block from Christian Eriksen in the second half and his cross for Liverpool’s first goal was perfection. It was a fine header from Roberto Firmino that put Liverpool ahead, but the crux of it was a Robertson delivery which left the striker needing to do little more than make contact.
Salah was involved in the approach to goal, as was Jordan Henderson with a neat pass to bring Robertson into the game — but from there it was all about the ball into the box.
Robertson sent it in perfectly for Firmino, whose run took him between Sanchez and Jan Vertonghen. The ball met the man, as much as the other way around, and it was the most straightforward of finishes for Firmino to steer it past Lloris.
With 16 minutes gone, it was a goal largely against the run of play, with Tottenham superior in the opening exchanges and a number of Liverpool players, not least goalkeeper Alisson, making uncertain starts. The goal calmed nerves, however, as these things often do, and Liverpool took charge of the remainder of the half.
They could have added two more within five minutes. Alexander-Arnold struck a low shot which flew narrowly wide and Sadio Mane hit the first of two curling shots just the wrong side of a post. In between, AlexanderArnold struck a post directly from an inswinging corner as Lloris scrambled to keep it out.
Tottenham’s best hope early on came from Alisson’s skittishness. The odd fumble — one unfussily mopped up by the ever-impressive AlexanderArnold — and some rash clearances were topped by an impulsive decision to chase from goal to clear after 23 minutes. The ball clipped his head, but it would be generous to say it was a header, and fell fortuitously at his feet and not to a white shirt.
The second half was much improved, though, and when Tottenham equalised it was fully deserved.
Henderson fouled Harry Kane needlessly. The England captain leapt to his feet and took a quick free-kick of mighty intelligence. Was the ball moving when he struck it? Possibly. Martin Atkinson, the referee, did not spot it, if it was, and Liverpool had plenty of opportunity to deal with the consequences anyway.
Instead they were caught out by Kane’s vision. He picked out Kieran Trippier wide, who moved the ball first time inside to Eriksen. He pushed it on for Lucas Moura to finish.
Yet, Liverpool found a way. It does not make them champions, but the stuff of champions? Maybe. The clocks go forward, and so do they.
Tottenham, meanwhile, could be fifth when they formally open their new stadium against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, depending on results elsewhere. That certainly wasn’t in the brochure.