A nutty 99 minutes or so in North London saw two red cards, three goals, and a massive injury scare as Liverpool held off the 9-man Spurs to win 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday
MORE — Spurs v Liverpool player ratings | Slot, Frank, Ekitike reaction
Xavi Simons clumsily caught Virgil van Dijk’s calf with his studs in the first half and VAR helped upgrade the yellow to a red card but Spurs hung tough into the second half.
Alexander Isak came off the bench to puts Liverpool in front but then was scissored by the block attempt of Micky van de Ven and left the game in clear distress.
MORE — Alexander Isak injury news | WATCH Spurs v Liverpool full match replay
Hugo Ekitike rose high to nod Liverpool in front by two in an encounter with Cristian Romero that left Thomas Frank enraged at what he called “a huge, huge mistake” by the referees.
Yet Spurs became ascendant over the final half quarter-hour, bringing the deficit to one through Richarlison and still controlling the game even after Cristian Romero’s kick out at Ibrahima Konate sent Spurs down to nine men.
The win moves Liverpool, perhaps quietly, into fifth place with 29 points — behind Chelsea on goal differential and eight points off current leaders Man City. Arsenal had 37 points as of post time and had just kicked off at Everton.
Spurs sit 13th with 22 points.
No breaks for Thomas Frank as Liverpool force issue
Spurs boss Thomas Frank was understandably upset at the calls that went against his men on Saturday, and perhaps his happiness with Tottenham Hotspur’s response to going down a man and two goals (and then another man) only served to worsen his feelings. Xavi Simons certainly didn’t intend to plug his studs into the back of Virgil van Dijk’s calf but the offense looked bad enough to merit a red card, and the bad fortune continued when Hugo Ekitike’s commanding leap over — and hands into the shoulders of — Cristian Romero turned the ball over the goal line to make it 2-0. Most managers and supporters would want to see the goal overturned but VAR wasn’t on his side. Then Ibrahima Konate made a reckless aerial challenge into Romero’s back, perhaps hoping that the defender’s short temper would blow. It did, and Romero’s kick out at Konate’s arm drew a second yellow that by the book maybe should’ve been a red. Liverpool wasn’t better than Spurs before the Simons red card and nearly frittered away their 2-0 lead, but they kept asking trick questions and Spurs kept selecting the trap door answer. And because of that, Liverpool are right back in the thick of the top four scrum.
What’s next?
A pair of London derbies for Spurs, who go to Crystal Palace at 11:30am ET on December 28 before visiting Brentford at 3pm New Year’s Day.
Liverpool hosts Wolves at 10am Saturday, then welcome Wolves to Anfield at 12:30pm January 1.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool final score: 1-2
Goal scorers: Alexander Isak 56', Hugo Ekitike 66', Richarlison 83'
Red card: Xavi Simons 33', Cristian Romero 90+3'
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool live updates — by Nick Mendola
Cristian Romero sent off
He won a free kick when Ibrahima Konate came through his back, but Spurs captain has lost his mind.
Already on yellow, he kicks Konate in the elbow and throws a fit for good measure, leaving Spurs with nine men in the third of nine minutes’ stoppage.
Richarlison goal — Spurs 1-2 Liverpool
Well, well, well...
Joao Palhinha’s desperation cut at a volley spins wildly to his left and no one including Virgil van Dijk can get a toe to it before it reaches Richarlison, who massages it inside the far post.
Richarlison now one of nine players to pot seven or more Premier League goals this season.
Hugo Ekitike goal — Spurs 0-2 Liverpool
A deserved goal for the in-form forward.
Jeremie Frimpong’s cross is deflected high into the air and Ekitike leaps through Cristian Romero to head it by Vicario.
Exit Isak
Isak appeared to hurt his left knee when Van de Ven’s scissored slide caught his left leg in the end of its shot to make it 1-0.
Alexander Isak goal — Spurs 0-1 Liverpool
Cristian Romero’s long central pass clanks into the body of an opponent and Liverpool do not wait long to cash in the surprise chance.
What a pass from Florian Wirtz and a fine finish from Isak but he’s hurt and it doesn’t look good.
Enter Isak
Alexander Isak is into the game for Conor Bradley at halftime.
Bradley appeared to be injured while attempting to block Spence late in the half.
Halftime — Spurs 0-0 Liverpool
The red card going to Spurs most fun player certainly did nothing for the spectacle to the nth degree.
Yet while Spurs’ possession number has massively sunk since the sending-off, they still lead in shot attempts and expected goals.
Outside of Wirtz’s ideas and Ekitike’s work rate, there isn’t much going for Liverpool in the Spurs third.
This game getting to the break at nil-nil is a good thing for the neutral.
Guglielmo Vicario saves Florian Wirtz, whose tail is up
Ryan Gravenberch’s reverse pass allows Wirtz a decent chance from the left, but Vicario pushes the ball wide.
He’s soon on the ball again and skips past Porro to nearly set up Hugo Ekitike for a 37th-minute chance.
VAR — Xavi Simons red card
VAR Stuart Atwell is calling Robert Brooks over to take a look at the pitchside monitor.
Simons could be done... and he is sent off.
Not only do Spurs go down to 10 men but their best hope for created big chances is off for an hour and then likely three more games.
Xavi Simons cautioned
The Dutch playmaker blades Virgil van Dijk on the back of the calf and the center back was quite upset.
It was an orange card more than a yellow but he sees the latter.
Half-chance for Spurs
Pedro Porro stands up a cross to the back post and Spence knocks it down for Randal Kolo Muani, but there’s a bit too much power removed by the knockdown and Kolo Muani can only nod down tamely for the stooping collection of Alisson.
Slow(ish) start
The hosts are enjoying a bit more possession and danger here.
The best chance of the game was stopped for a foul that probably wasn’t one, as Djed Spence drove through Conor Bradley into the box but was whistled as Bradley fell to the turf.
Almost never a foul, and it the call may have been prodded by where it took place.
Tottenham Hotspur lineup
Vicario, Spence, Van de Ven, Romero, Porro, Bentancur, Gray, Bergvall, Simons, Kudus, Kolo Muani
Liverpool lineup
Alisson, Kerkez, Van Dijk, Konate, Bradley, Gravenberch, Jones, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Ekitike
Spurs vs Liverpool preview — by Joe Prince-Wright
Thomas Frank is under serious pressure after Spurs were hammered 3-0 at Nottingham Forest last weekend. That came after two shutout wins against Brentford and Slavia Prague as inconsistency and errors are hampering Spurs’ progress this season. But they are just four points behind Liverpool heading into this weekend and a win would do wonders for belief that they can push for a top four finish.
Liverpool are feeling a bit better about themselves as they beat Brighton at home last weekend, and that came after a big away win at Inter Milan in the Champions League. Arne Slot has also handled the Mohamed Salah situation well, for now, and the Egyptian King has now gone to the Africa Cup of Nations for the next few weeks. Given their schedule, Liverpool have a serious chance to really kick on over the festive period.
Tottenham Hotspur team news, focus
Pape Matar Sarr is away on AFCON duty, while Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Dominic Solanke, Radu Dragusin and Destiny Udogie are all out injured. Frank has been using the trio of Kolo Muani, Richarlison and Kudus in attack, with Xavi Simons showing flashes of his brilliance in recent weeks. But if Spurs really want to kick on they have to stop making silly mistakes on the ball at the back.
Liverpool team news, focus
Injuries are starting to pile up again for Liverpool with Joe Gomez, Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo and Wataru Endo all out through injury. That is a blow heading into the busy festive period. Jeremie Frimpong is working his way back to fitness, while Conor Bradley is back from suspension and will slot straight back in at right back. Hugo Ekitike (who has scored four goals in his last two league games) and Alexander Isak could start as a duo in attack again with Florian Wirtz buzzing around underneath them. Mac Allister, Jones and Gravenberch will likely start as the midfield trio, because they are the only midfielders Liverpool have fit and available.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool prediction
This could be absolutely anything and we should expect chaos given the defensive issues both have suffered so far this season. Go for a fun draw. Spurs 3-3 Liverpool.
How to watch Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 12:30pm ET Saturday (December 20)
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — North London
TV Channel: NBC
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com and Stream live on Peacock
