Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened (2024)

That’s it for today’s live blog. I’ll leave you with David Hytner’s blog – goodnight!

Ange Postecoglou talks to Sky Sports

There was a lot going on, I’m trying to process it all. It’s fantastic to beat a top-class opponent, and getting a late winner always adds that little bit of spirit and belief. Even with the extra two men, Liverpool made it difficult for us. We didn’t handle it too well when they went down to ten – we started rushing things.

At the start of the second half we were better, but after the second red card we probably didn’t vary our attacks enough. The one at the end – it’s an own-goal I know, but it’s one of the few times we flashed a ball across the box.

I’m being really picky. We’re just in our infancy and this group of players have been outstanding. I’m rapt with getting the results because it allows me to keep pushing them, because they have belief now.

Credit to Liverpool, the mentality they have to hang in there even with nine men… they’ve got winners in their team and that’s something we need to learn to become as well.

The Spurs fans are belting out Angels, swaying from side to side. In its four-year existence, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has never been such a happy place. They were a bit fortunate today, and they won’t care one iota about that.

Liverpool look devastated, as you’d expect after such a coolly heroic defensive performance. Curtis Jones was sent off in the 26th minute and Diogo Jota in the 69th, yet they didn’t really look like losing.

Son put Spurs ahead before Cody Gakpo equalised on the stroke of half time (and injured himself in the process). Alisson made two superb saves early in the second half, but Spurs created nothing after Liverpool went down to nine men – until the 96th minute, when Joel Matip slammed Pedro Porro’s cross into his own net.

Spurs jump above Arsenal and Liverpool into second place after an emotional victory over nine-man Liverpool.

90+6 min Veliz has been booked for something or other.

It’s a cruel moment for Joel Matip, who has been immaculate all night. The goal came because Spurs finally got somebody free in a wide area. Romero found Porro, who belted a hopeful low cross into the six-yard box. Matip, well positioned at the near post, tried to put it behind for a corner but sliced it high into the net.

Spurs have stolen it!

90+5 min Alisson is booked for timewasting.

90+4 min Kulusevski curls a cross well wide, prompting groans from the home fans.

90+4 min More impatient attacking from Spurs, more calm defence from Liverpool. They’ve been excellent.

90+2 min Porro’s very deep cross is headed straight at Alisson by RIcharlison. He saw it late, so it wasn’t much of a chance.

90+1 min As things stand Liverpool are second, a point behind Manchester City, with Spurs in fourth.

90 min Six minutes of added time.

90 min: Spurs substitution x2 Alejo Veliz, a young Argentinian forward, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg replace James Maddison and Yves Bissouma.

89 min Maddison’s mish*t shot from 20 yards is blocked, then Romero is booked for fouling Szoboszlai.

88 min Bissouma is booked for flattening Endo. Spurs have been weirdly tentative since Liverpool went down to nine men.

87 min Robertson is booked for a foul on Porro.

86 min Bissouma’s long-range shot hits Richarlison and spins through to Alisson. Jose Mourinho would be proud of this defensive performance from Liverpool.

86 min “The ref is handing this game to Tottenham on a silver platter,” writes Kevin Bruch. “Those challenges by Jota were run-of-the-mill fouls, the first I would even argue was accidental. Never a yellow. Jones was really unlucky to have his foot roll over the ball, if it didn’t, would he have been endangering the opponent? I don’t think that was a clear and obvious error by the ref. I also don’t share your faith in offside technology. Diaz looked onside, why do we need to examine it until he isn’t? The game should have been about two great teams going toe to toe, instead the ref has blown it.”

You forgot to tell us which team you support.

85 min Spurs’ passing has been far too narrow since Liverpool went down to nine. At the moment they don’t look like scoring.

84 min “Liverpool are revolutionising the false nine,” says Peter Oh. “They’ve got nine men who play like ten or eleven.”

It’s starting to resemble Arsene Wenger’s two great Arsenal sides, who were almost more dangerous with 10 men than 11.

83 min: Double substitution for Spurs Ben Davies and Oliver Skipp replace Pape Sarr and the excellent Destiny Udogie.

81 min Solomon plays a good ball to the underlapping Maddison, who wins a corner off Matip. It’s taken short – of course it is – and worked from one side to the other and then back. Eventually Liverpool clear.

80 min Now Solomon’s shot deflects behind for a corner. Before it’s taken, Ryan Gravenberch replaces Alexis Mac Allister for Liverpool.

79 min Porro’s off-target shot deflects behind for yet another Spurs corner. It’s taken short and worked back to Porro, whose cross is headed away by Van Dijk. Liverpool are doing really well here.

78 min Imagine how bulletproof Liverpool will feel if they win this.

77 min With Son off the field and Kane in Germany, Spurs are looking to Maddison for inspiration. At the moment they’re struggling to create anything, and Porro’s cross on the turn is comfortably held by Alisson.

75 min Alexander-Arnold’s outswinging corner is headed well wide of the near post by Van Dijk. A quarter chance.

75 min Alexander-Arnold wins a corner for Liverpool, who have actually been reasonably comfortable since going down to nine men.

73 min: Triple substitution for Liverpool Wataru Endo, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate replace Mo Salah, Joe Gomez and Luis Diaz. That means a switch to 5-3-0, with none of their five brilliant forwards on the field.

73 min Weirdly, the last time Liverpool were down to nine men was against Spurs in 2011.

71 min Darwin Nunez was about to come on, but there’s a change of plan now. The current formation is 4-4-0 with Salah on the right.

70 min The second yellow card was fair enough, and a really silly tackle from Jota. The first was unfortunate though. Udogie ran away from Jota and brushed Jota’s knee in his running stride; that knocked one leg against the other, forcing him to fall over.

69 min Oh my word. Moments after an unfortunate first booking, Jota lunges at Udogie and is given a second yellow card. Liverpool are down to nine men.

69 min: Spurs substitution Manor Solomon replaces Son Heung-min, who must be feeling the injury that made him a doubt for this game. Richarlison will move up front.

68 min Jota is booked for tripping Udogie, though it was completely accidental.

67 min Liverpool are also carrying a threat on the break. This time Porro makes a vital sliding tackle on Salah, who had slipped Sarr and was heading towards the Spurs area.

66 min One Spurs corner leads to another. They’ve been very dominant in the second half, but Liverpool are defending with such determination.

64 min Salah breaks upfield, all on his own, and is brilliantly dispossessed by Bissouma. A foul is then given against Salah – a bit soft, in truth – and he’s booked for kicking the ball away.

63 min A poor ball from Alisson goes straight to Richarlison on the left. Gomez bounces off him, allowing Richarlison to drive a cross that is cleared by Van Dijk on the six-yard line.

61 min: Fine defending from Gomez! Spurs worked a short corner on the left, with Bissouma eventually finding Udogie near the byline. His low cross towards Sarr is very well cut out by Gomez at the front post.

59 min: Spurs have a goal disallowed! It was almost identical to their first goal: Maddison to Richarlison, who was offside, and a cutback that was turned in by either Son or Matip at the near post. The eye-of-a-needle pass from Maddison was gorgeous.

58 min Udogie finds himself in the centre-forward position, prompting the other left-back Robertson to sprint across and make an important tackle. Sarr collects the loose ball and leathers a shot straight at Alisson from 25 yards.

57 min If Liverpool win this, on the back of the Newcastle game, they’ll feel invincible.

55 min A better spell for Liverpool, who have survived Spurs’ first onslaught of the second half.

52 min I can’t remember the last time Liverpool crossed the halfway line. This has been Spurs’ best spell of the game by a mile.

51 min: Another fine save from Alisson! Maddison’s through pass to Son was cut out, but the ball deflected to Udogie. He knocked it into Son, who chested the ball down on the edge of the area and swished a spectacular volley towards goal. Alisson reacted superbly to push it over the bar with both hands.

49 min: Lovely save from Alisson! Spurs have made an excellent start to the second half. Maddison shapes a sweet left-footed curler from 22 yards, and Alisson dives full-length to his right to fingertip it round the post. He’s pure class.

47 min “The red can be debated,” says Paul Griffin, “but the ‘offside’ is clearly on with the naked eye. A Venetian blind, in Danny Blind’s front room, purchased via a blind trust, humming Tom Waits’s Blind Love, could see that.”

46 min Peep peep! The second half is under way, with Diogo Jota on for Cody Gakpo.

Incidentally, Sky say they haven’t received an image of the Diaz disallowed goal that includes the offside lines. There’s one angle from which he looks well onside, although they can often be deceptive. For example, John Stones’ goal against Arsenal in the title decider last season looked offside to the naked eye but was given.

“Greetings from Vietnam,” says Phil Keegan. “I am a Man U fan (pretty depressing right now) so obviously eff Liverpool, but I think Jones was unlucky. He played the ball and his foot slipped over the top of the ball and caught the Spurs player. There was no intention at all. That did not deserve a red.”

I might be wrong but I don’t think the law considers intent; it’s all about whether it endangers the safety of an opponent. Whether it should is a different argument.

“Next time I’m up in court for GBH, I’ll get my brief to put forward the ‘Neville defence’,” writes Simon McMahon. “I didn’t mean no harm, your honour, and didn’t intentionally set out to give the defendant a doing. It just kind of happened. Him being a Dundee fan and all that.”

A few of you have also queried Diaz’s disallowed goal in the 34th minute. From some angles he looks onside, from others clearly off. I haven’t a clue anymore. The only thing I’m certain about is that offside technology is 100 per cent reliable.

“I get it probably was a red,” says Nick Smith, “but was it such a clear error by the ref to give it a yellow that VAR got involved?”

I think it was. Whenever studs make contact above the ankle, causing the other player’s leg to bend, everyone gets twitchy. But it is notable that a lot of current and ex-players, including Andros Townsend on Sky Sports, think Jones was unlucky.

I’m not sure Gakpo will be back on, by the way. He was limping as he walked down the tunnel. Liverpool have loads of options on the bench – Nunez, Elliott, Jota, even Alexander-Arnold.

Peep peep! Intriguing stuff in north London. Curtis Jones was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Yves Bissouma, and Liverpool were in big trouble when Son finished off a lovely move to put Spurs ahead. But this new Liverpool team don’t seem to understand the concept of the lost cause: Cody Gakpo scored a good equaliser, injuring himself in the process, and Luis Diaz almost put them ahead on the stroke of half-time.