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Roberto Firmino led a winning goal in the 90th minute as champion Liverpool edged out title challengers Tottenham to climb to the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory at Anfield.
Firmino escaped Toby Alderweireld’s clutches in the final minute of regulation time to deflect Andy Robertson’s corner kick into the upper corner with a bullet header that left Hugo Lloris without a chance.
The dramatic finish came just as the Spurs appeared to have clinched a rare point at Anfield, with a clinical strike from Heung-Min Son on the counter that nullified Mohamed Salah’s deflected starter in the first half.
Spurs had opportunities to strengthen their title credentials and end Liverpool’s formidable league record at home to Liverpool, which now has 66 undefeated matches, but Steven Bergwijn hit the post and Harry Kane blew a gold-edged head shot at the second half as their Anfield troubles continued.
How Liverpool left him late to overtake Spurs
Heung-Min Son and Mohamed Salah in action during Tottenham’s trip to Liverpool
After paying an emotional tribute to the late Gerard Houllier before kick-off, Liverpool embarked on a commanding display in the first half that saw the Spurs camped out in their area and hungry for possession.
The Reds nearly took the lead in the 11th minute when Roberto Firmino headed a perfect Andy Robertson cross into the far corner, but Hugo Lloris was available to his full extent to keep Spurs level.
Liverpool increased the pressure steadily and almost said so midway through, but Lloris kept Salah’s low momentum out again at the end of an incisive attack.
The pressure finally kicked in in the 26th minute, but there was an element of fortune in Liverpool’s advance. Curtis Jones drove into the box, unloaded the ball at Salah and his first shot deflected it wickedly off Toby Alderweireld before heading for the upper corner of the Spurs’ goal.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah now has eight goals against Tottenham in all competitions; Against no other team has he scored more in his club career in European football (at the level of Bournemouth and Watford).
Jones was about to add a second of rapid fire when he pounced on a defensive lapse from Serge Aurier, but Lloris didn’t blush and the Spurs soon made the most of the reprieve.
Out of nowhere, Giovani Lo Celso’s superb run and perfectly balanced pass freed Son through Liverpool’s goal, and the South Korean capped off a signature Spurs counterattack with a clinical finish near the post that outscored Alisson.
Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min has scored 11 goals in 13 Premier League appearances this season, matching his goal tally from the entire 2019-20 campaign (11-for-30).
The goal remained after surviving a VAR control for a marginal offside, leaving Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp scratching their heads about how they were ahead after seeing 80 percent of the ball in the first half.
Mourinho played with his formation at halftime and produced an immediate uptick in Spurs’ luck that Bergwijn should have capped within seconds of the restart, but cut a deflected shot after passing Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Kane then intercepted a wayward pass from Alisson from behind and tried to punish the mistake with a bold, long-range chip, but the Brazilian goalkeeper rallied in time to flip it back.
The Spurs’ best chances came and went in a frenzied minute into the second half, with Bergwijn taking a shot into the frame of Liverpool’s goal moments before Kane, unmarked, headed the resulting corner from six yards.
That caused Liverpool to get going, and Lloris had to tip a rough blow from Sadio Mane towards the bar as the Reds increased the pressure in search of a late winner.
And, with seconds remaining, Liverpool landed the goal they and the 2,000 fans within Anfield were looking for when Firmino’s impressive header hit the top corner and saw the champions deliver a potentially revealing blow in the title race. .
Roberto Firmino celebrates his late winning goal against Tottenham
Opta Stats – Anfield Fortress
- Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 66 home matches in the Premier League (W55 D11), with their last loss coming against Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace in April 2017.
- Tottenham have won just one of their last 27 Premier League away matches against Liverpool (8 draws and 18 losses), the last time they won there in May 2011 with Harry Redknapp.
- Only against Chelsea (102) have Tottenham conceded more goals in the Premier League than against Liverpool (97).
- This was Tottenham’s first Premier League defeat in 12 Premier League matches (seven wins and four draws), since a 1-0 loss to Everton in September.
- 20 of Tottenham’s 25 Premier League goals this season have been scored by Son Heung-min (11) or Harry Kane (9).
What the managers said …
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp: “Playing a game like this tonight is absolutely exceptional. It was a first-rate match and we deserved three points against a first-rate team that, from an organizational point of view, was very difficult to face with the threat of counterattack they have. A lot. I have no problem scoring late if necessary. We really deserved all three points.
“Of course Tottenham had chances, they scored a goal with an incredibly tight offside decision. We really have no luck with these decisions at the moment. They had other opportunities: you can’t defend Kane, Son, Bergwijn for 90 minutes, the speed they have is incredible.
“But at those times we were completely in charge of the game, we stayed focused and protected our attacks sensationally well, the back pressure was good, the passing was good. Not all of our efforts led to a goal or a suitable opportunity because they were at the bottom of the game. box and defended all the high balls.
“We needed to be creative and the guys were creative, they stayed creative and then they forced it. We forced the first goal a little and the second with the set piece is very nice because we don’t have much time to work on it.” things and that worked again. “
José Mourinho has never won on the road against Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp in six attempts in all competitions (D2 L4), with Klopp being the coach he has faced the most away from home without ever proving victory.
Tottenham coach Jose Mourinho: “I think even a draw would have left us without the best taste because we had them there to win. It was not just about the great occasions, it was the moment of the great occasions. The moment was when they were in trouble, at their worst , and we had him there to kill him and we lost him.
“Normally, in games of this level, you pay [for] that. I thought we were going to pay [for] just taking a point, but in the end, we didn’t even take a point, so it’s very disappointing.
“Looking at the performance, I’m happy with the team. I’m happy with our proposal, the proposal to go to every game to win it. Sometimes you can’t do it. Sometimes you can’t play better than what you did for the opponent. Today, from I really think that, in such a difficult game against such a good team, the boys were very good and they punished us. “
Whats Next?
Sunday December 20 2:00 pm
Start 2:15 pm
Liverpool will travel to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday at 12:30 pm, before Tottenham host Leicester on Super sunday at 2.15 pm – live on Sky Sports Premier League.
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