Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur. Premier League.
AnfieldAttendance53,275.
Report and highlights as Liverpool leapfrogged Tottenham into fifth via a 4-3 thriller; Spurs conceded three times in first 15 minutes to Curtis Jones, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah; Spurs then levelled through Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son and Richarlison but Diogo Jota scored last-gasp winner
Monday 1 May 2023 09:14, UK
Tottenham let in three goals in the first 15 minutes at Liverpool, came back to equalise in stoppage time, then conceded a 94th-minute winner to Diogo Jota as the Reds won a dramatic encounter 4-3 at Anfield.
After trailing 5-0 after 20 minutes at Newcastle last Sunday and 2-0 at half-time to Manchester United in midweek, Spurs were feeble in starting a match once again as Curtis Jones and Luis Diaz put Liverpool 2-0 up after six minutes.
It was three for Liverpool just under 10 minutes later when Mohamed Salah struck from the penalty spot after Cristian Romero had fouled the excellent Cody Gakpo in the area.
Tottenham's poor start ended up being pivotal given the chances Ryan Mason's side would go on to create - and Spurs ended up level in stoppage time.
Spurs saw big chances for Heung-Min Son and Dejan Kulusevski go begging either side of Harry Kane's goal back, while Son and Romero both struck the woodwork after half-time.
Son then made it 3-2 with just under 15 minutes to go to set up a grandstand finish and former Everton striker Richarlison levelled in the third minute of stoppage time - his first Premier League goal for Spurs.
But straight from the kick-off, Jota capitalised on Lucas Moura's poor back pass to finish past Fraser Forster and send Anfield into raptures. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp picked up a hamstring injury on his touchline sprint after the goal.
In the end, Liverpool held on for the victory which takes them above Tottenham in the table into fifth, albeit seven points off fourth-placed Manchester United having played a game more.
When asked to describe his emotions after the game, Tottenham caretaker manager Ryan Mason told Sky Sports: "Devastated. The reality is the team that created the most chances lost the game. We were the better team by a country mile.
"You can't start Premier League games like that. To gift a team like Liverpool four goals makes it very difficult. It's tough to put into words. Absolutely gutted."
Spurs did not even allow themselves to overcome one Liverpool attack before surrendering the lead after just three minutes.
Salah fed Trent Alexander-Arnold on the edge of the box and his clipped cross found the unmarked Jones, who had escaped Pedro Porro's loose clutches to smash past Forster.
Three minutes later, Spurs' horror start was doubled in its severity. Again, it was Salah playing a major role in setting up the chance: releasing Gakpo to the right byline and his cross found Diaz in the box to net in his first Liverpool start since October.
Romero had let Diaz go for the tap-in and it was not long until the Spurs defender had his head in his hands once again. The Argentine clumsily clipped Gakpo in the box and Salah put two spot-kick misses behind him against Bournemouth and Arsenal to send Forster the wrong way.
As some Spurs fans headed for the Anfield exits, Liverpool went into cruise control by creating half-chances at best until the interval - but Spurs took that slackness to their advantage and could have easily levelled the game.
Son was released by Kane down the left and despite rolling past goalkeeper Alisson Becker - Virgil van Djik was there to clear from off the line in a warning for Liverpool.
But moments later, Spurs pulled one back and this time Van Dijk was at fault. The Netherlands defender slipped as he tried to close down Ivan Perisic on the break, leaving the Croatia international to cross for Kane, who could not miss as he smashed through Alisson's legs.
It could have been two for Spurs moments after that as Kulusevski profited on another Liverpool mistake, but Alisson kicked away his near-post effort in a golden chance.
Those opportunities created an edgy feeling at Anfield at half-time, despite the scoreline. The mood was made even more nervy 10 minutes after the restart as Spurs hit the post twice in quick succession
Son's counter-attack saw the South Korea forward strike the outside of Alisson's near post, while Romero's acrobatic effort from Kane's cross bounced once then off the far post seconds later.
Liverpool tried to see out the game but still failed to test Forster following Salah's goal after 15 minutes. Meanwhile, Spurs pounced again as Son beat Liverpool's offside trap and finished past Alisson to move one goal away from Liverpool on 77 minutes.
Spurs saw three penalty calls waved away - including one controversial rejection for an alleged tug back by Ibrahima Konate on substitute Richarlison - as Mason's side continued to build more pressure on a tense Anfield.
The visitors were also left aggrieved that matchwinner Jota was not given a red card for a very high foot on Oliver Skipp - which was only punished with a caution.
Eventually, Tottenham's equaliser finally came as Richarlison nodded home Son's free-kick at the far post to send the travelling Spurs fans who remained into delirium in their Anfield corner. Richarlison took his shirt off in his celebrations and took part in his infamous pigeon celebration with Son.
But then Moura, who is close to ending his time at Tottenham, gave the ball away far too cheaply which allowed Jota to burst through and crash home a winner past Forster. An ending which showed the beauty of the Premier League.
Tottenham interim boss Mason could not hide his anger at not seeing Jota sent off for his high challenge on Skipp.
Mason, who himself retired from football at the age of 26 due to a serious head injury, felt the red card was "impossible to miss".
"It's one of the clearest red cards I've seen, it's difficult to take," he told Sky Sports.
"It's an impossible one to miss. When you talk about endangering an opponent, to draw blood from a stud when Skipp's head is five-and-a-half feet in the air baffles me.
"That type of decision is maybe the difference between winning the game or not.
"It's tough to understand and I would like an explanation. I saw the incident in real time and you have a feel for those sort of moments. The VAR official has the benefit of a replay."
Meanwhile, Tottenham striker Kane rued another dismal start to a match from his side and said losing the game so late was a "gut-wrenching feeling".
"It was a dreadful start, obviously not the first time it's happened this season," he told Sky Sports.
"For 20 minutes it was one game, and for the remaining 70 minutes plus five minutes we had chances, we hit the post, Alisson made some good saves, and over that period we fully deserved to get back into the game.
"It would have been a really great comeback until those last 10 seconds, which are hard to put into words how and why that happened.
"Now it's a feeling of gut-wrenching defeat. To get nothing from the game is tough to take. The table doesn't lie, where we are doesn't lie. We have some fantastic players and fantastic moments but as a team we are not playing well enough.
"We need to find a way to get through moments when things aren't going our way. A new way of starting games away from home so you're not under the cosh. We deserve to be where we are."
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp admitted his team "got away with" the win - and Tottenham caused them problems by not changing their set-up.
"For a long period of the first half it was the best game we had played so far," he said. "The first half was good, we conceded a goal but it was the first time we didn't defend properly.
"The problem is Tottenham do not change at all, they go for counter-attacks even at 3-1 down. They just defend, counter-attack and get set-pieces and that makes it tricky.
"We got away with it thanks to Diogo Jota, it makes it spectacular and everybody goes home buzzing, but I am the manager of the team so I have to mention everything else as well. In three days' time [against Fulham] we have to do better."
Klopp also reignited his feud with referee Paul Tierney, saying: "I don't know what this man has against us", after the Reds boss angrily celebrated his team's winner.
The German revealed after the game that the anger was due to Tierney giving a soft foul against Mohamed Salah on Ben Davies in the build-up to Spurs' equaliser for 3-3.
Klopp and Tierney have a long-held feud which dates back to December 2021, when the Liverpool boss told the referee - coincidentally after a match against Tottenham - that he "has no problem with any referees, except you".
"We have our history with [Paul] Tierney, I really don't know what this man has against us, he has said there is no problems but that cannot be true," said Klopp. "How he looks at me, I don't understand it.
"My celebration towards the fourth official, I didn't say any bad words or nothing unnecessary, which is fair. I got my punishment by pulling my hamstring. But what he said to me when he gave me the yellow card is not okay."
Sky Sports' Sam Blitz:
If an alien came down to Earth and wanted to know everything about Tottenham's last 15 years, this game at Liverpool would have covered most of it.
All you need to know about the 'Spursy' term was laid bare at Anfield. A last chance to keep up the pace with the top four? Three-nil down. Winning the hearts and minds of the neutrals to come back to level in stoppage time. Then just as they are about to walk away with a point, concede again by literally gifting Liverpool a goal.
"That is the most Tottenham thing you will ever see," said Sky Sports' Gary Neville on co-comms as Moura gave the ball away to Jota to run through and score.
The Brazilian is responsible for Spurs' finest hour by scoring a hat-trick in a Champions League semi-final. But the fact he is capable of that error shows why Tottenham have not moved forward.
Team-mates such as Eric Dier, Heung-Min Son, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Davinson Sanchez have similar polarising performances in them, while newer players Pedro Porro and Cristian Romero both made errors for Liverpool's first three goals - then nearly ended up on the scoresheet in the second half.
Ultimately, Tottenham have conceded six goals in the opening 10 minutes in their last three games. Spurs have also conceded in the 90th minute or later in four out of their last seven matches.
For whoever the incoming Tottenham manager is, he has to get that culture out of the club. The problem is that some of the best coaches this country has ever seen have retired have tried - and failed.
Liverpool return to action on Wednesday against Fulham before welcoming Brentford to Anfield on Saturday, live on Sky Sports from 5pm; kick-off 5.30pm.
Tottenham host Crystal Palace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
May 3: Fulham (H) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm
May 6: Brentford (H) - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports
May 13: Leicester (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 20: Aston Villa (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 28: Southampton (A) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm
May 6: Crystal Palace (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 13: Aston Villa (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 20: Brentford (H) - Premier League, kick-off 12.30pm
May 28: Leeds (A) - Premier League, kick off 4.30pm
