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With a bullet header in the 89th minute, Roberto Firmino brought down Tottenham, led Liverpool into familiar territory at the top of the Premier League and ejected in a sprint across the field to celebrate in front of a joyous Kop. A night of frustration for the Premier League champions had just turned into one for their rivals.
Until Firmino hit Andy Robertson’s corner, this was a bad night for Liverpool as José Mourinho proved that Jürgen Klopp was right by saying that his rival had only reinvented himself on Instagram.
The Spurs defended deeply, defended well and tied on the counter through Son Heung-Min. Hugo Lloris stood his ground against a wasteful Liverpool attack but was ultimately beaten and Liverpool savored what could prove to be a priceless victory.
Even by Klopp’s standards, there was a striking ferocity to Liverpool’s pressure as they hounded the Spurs from the very first whistle. Mohamed Salah and Firmino shut down Eric Dier instantly as he received the ball on the edge of his own area. Steven Bergwijn, starting from the left of a four-man midfield with Moussa Sissoko on the opposite flank, was dispossessed near the corner flag as Sadio Mané ran to the right to close another exit. The three forwards set the tone, midfield took control and the champions dominated completely until the Spurs’ first attack of the game stung them in the 33rd minute.
First, however, they paid tribute to Gerard Houllier after the sad passing of the former club manager at the age of 73. A photo of Houllier holding the UEFA Cup when the treble was completed in 2001 graced the cover of the show. Placards with his name hung at Sir Kenny Dalglish’s booth and his name rang out from the Kop for a minute of applause. I would have enjoyed what followed from Liverpool.
A busy first half for Lloris began when Firmino found himself free inside the area with a free kick from Andy Robertson. The Brazilian international headed for the far corner but the Spurs goalkeeper jumped to his right to collect.
Salah should have done better with his first chance of the game, beautifully created by Jordan Henderson’s chip down the left and Robertson who drifted away from Serge Aurier but shot Lloris straight from an attractive center on the wing.
He found the net with his next opportunity, albeit aided by a good chunk of fortune along the way. Curtis Jones stormed into the Spurs area after trading passes with Firmino. His run was stopped by Aurier, but the ball was broken for Salah, whose shot was deflected from a combination of Dier and Toby Alderweireld when they closed it before going inside the far post with Lloris stranded.
Jones could have doubled Liverpool’s lead moments later when he stole Aurier inside the box, but his low shot was too close to Lloris. The same thing happened when Mané crossed the penalty area and shot directly at the French international.
Firmino, spinning on a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross, at least extended the goalkeeper although with the same end result, Lloris flew to his right to stop.
Visitors didn’t create anything during the first third of the contest. They had an incentive to do so with 19-year-old Rhys Williams replacing the injured Joel Matip in central defense, but they rarely held possession long enough for players to enter the Liverpool half to prove it.
And then, out of nowhere, the Spurs were level. Giovani Lo Celso made the equalizer with a fine pass through midfield and an even better pass to free Son Heung-min down the left. Son oozed confidence as he approached goal and glanced at Alisson before sweeping a convincing shot past the Liverpool keeper. The VAR reviewed a possible offside against the South Korean forward but forensics did not kill the joy this time.
The Spurs were more enterprising after the restart. Only 25 seconds had elapsed when Bergwijn broke away after Williams failed to intercept Alderweireld’s flush ball off defense.
To the obvious chagrin of José Mourinho, the midfielder cut his shot through Alisson and deflected too far. Harry Kane also had two attempts from a distance, the first forcing Alisson into evasive action after his poor punt was intercepted by the England captain, before Bergwijn squandered another opportunity to overtake the Spurs.
The Dutch international found himself again down the left after Kane and Son headed for a punt from Lloris. This time he connected cleanly, only to see his shot hit the base of the second post and bounce off Fabinho for a corner. Liverpool’s pardon was not over. From Son’s resulting delivery, Kane was met with a clear header at the six-yard line after drifting away from Henderson. It fluffed it up completely.
Kane’s absence would have been more important if Liverpool’s clinical touch had not left them. Firmino and Salah fired straight at Lloris when they were well positioned, while Mané was unlucky when, after turning Aurier into the box, his angled shot hit the crossbar thanks to a light touch from the defender.
