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Second-half goals from Trent Alexander Arnold and Sadio Mane ensured Liverpool a well-deserved victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
The Reds’ title defense had been in tatters after a five-game winless streak in which they had only scored one goal, but they did well against a team they have enjoyed defeating in recent years.
Roberto Firmino ended a 482-minute goal drought on the edge of the break, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mane pocketing after the break for seven straight wins against Spurs.
. . 💪🔴
– Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 28, 2021
The victory, the first since December 19, puts Jurgen Klopp’s side back in the top four, four points behind leader Manchester City, who is one game short.
It was a painful night for José Mourinho’s team, who returned to the meeting with a good shot from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. His chances of competing for the title seem to have disappeared.
However, they will be more concerned about star man Kane, who did not reappear after the break after sustaining an ankle injury in the first half. The Spurs will be nervous waiting to see the extent of the problem.
It was December 27 that Liverpool last scored in the Premier League (Mane scored against West Brom) and the same man had a golden opportunity to end that miserable drought with less than two minutes left on the clock.
Mohammed Salah’s pass dodged Serge Aurier and sent Mane clear but, symptomatic of recent weeks, he fired wide.
Moments later, the Spurs thought they were ahead of the game when Kane sent Son Heung-min clear and the South Korean finished coldly. However, VAR stepped in and ruled that Son was slightly offside in preparation, and Liverpool had a breather.
The Reds dominated possession and enjoyed the territorial advantage, but the Spurs beat them at halftime and they should have led midway through the first half.
Hugo Lloris’s long shot was loaned by Kane to Steven Bergwijn, who was playing at Son, but this time from a position similar to where his goal was disallowed, he shot straight at goalkeeper Alisson.
The Spurs’ night began to change when Kane was injured twice, and appeared to suffer from problems with both ankles that have proven troublesome in the past.
He was also nervous at the back, as Liverpool kept knocking on the door and Mane tested Lloris with a fierce shot.
Finally, after more than eight hours since that Mane goal against the Baggies, Liverpool scored a Premier League goal.
Mane was played by Ben Davies, Eric Dier missed the opportunity to clear the center and Firmino tapped from close range.
After waiting for so long, unsurprisingly, it followed a second shortly after, as they made it 2-0 after just 70 seconds of the second half, in which Kane was not involved.
Mane entered the area and his shot was stopped by Lloris, but the Frenchman could only deflect it into danger with Alexander-Arnold closing the rebound.
It set the tone for an action-packed period on both ends of the field.
Spurs immediately returned to the game with a fine shot from Hojbjerg, the Dane scoring his first goal for the club with a thunderous effort from 25 yards.
But hopes for a comeback were short-lived as Liverpool took the game by the nape.
They thought they had made it 3-1 in the 55th minute when Salah slammed into the far post, but Firmino handled the ball in preparation and was ruled out.
That didn’t matter though, as they regained their two-goal lead 10 minutes later through Mane. He took advantage of a mistake by Joe Rodon, who couldn’t deal with the Alexander-Arnold cross, by crushing Lloris.
Liverpool weren’t ruthless enough to lead Spurs to the sword, instead they were overjoyed to see their first league win of 2021.
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