A match that felt like it could’ve been 9v9 on the pitch and 9-9 on the scoreboard, Tottenham vs Liverpool ran the gamut of entertainment and controversy on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London.
Harry Kane and Heung-min Son sandwiched Tottenham goals around Diogo Jota and Andrew Robertson tallies before Robertson was sent off of a 2-2 draw that left Liverpool a full three points off leaders Man City.
This was a day for the officials, and Jurgen Klopp was red-hot with Paul Tierney after Robertson was shown red and Kane was not, while Jota was not given a penalty. On the other hands, Spurs were angry that a Liverpool goal stood after Mohamed Salah headed the ball off his own hand at close range before Robertson punched home (pun intended).
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Tottenham’s point gives it 26, six points back of Arsenal with three matches-in-hand on their fourth-place North London rivals. Spurs finish the weekend in seventh.
It was day which saw Tottenham missing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Cristian Romero while Liverpool did not have Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara, and Virgil van Dijk. That had proceedings as open as you’d expect, and produced quite a spectacle.
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Tottenham vs Liverpool final score, stats
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Liverpool
Goals scored: Kane 13', Jota 35', Robertson 69'
Red card: Robertson 75'
Shots: Tottenham 10-18 Liverpool
Shots on target: Tottenham 5-6 Liverpool
Possession: Tottenham 44-56 Liverpool
Three things we learned from Tottenham vs Liverpool
1. Holy goalies (even in a 2-2 draw): Alisson Becker and Hugo Lloris literally stopped this game from going 4-3 by the hour mark. Show-stopping saves came from both keepers, with the former arguably the most celebrated backstop in the Premier League and the latter perhaps the most undervalued. Alisson’s stop of Dele Alli to keep the match 1-0 in the first half is arguably the difference in the game. Speaking of which...
2. Spurs gotta finish: As my high school coach Dick White used to yell during practice when we missed the goal, “EIGHT FEET HIGH! TWENTY-FOUR FEET WIDE! It’s the BIGGEST GOAL IN SPORTS!” Rhetoric and good goalkeeping aside, Tottenham should’ve had three goals before Jota scored, let alone what happened after the break. Dele’s shot was well-saved but Heung-min Son also made a meal of multiple chances and passes (Kane was not immune either). Make no mistake about it: Spurs kept Liverpool in this.
3. Kane a lucky boy, Robertson not: Harry Kane’s sliding challenge into the leg of Andy Robertson was certainly of the orange card variety if not the red. If he was sent off, few arguments would’ve been made on his behalf. But he wasn’t, and perhaps the challenge lived in just enough grey area for Kane’s yellow not to turn color to red. That said, Andrew Robertson looked to have got a similar break shortly after the match went to 2-2, but VAR stepped in this time. Throw in a non-called penalty against Diogo Jota, and Liverpool is not pleased.
Man of the Match: Hugo Lloris
Andrew Robertson was going to be our Man of the Match prior to the red card and in a sense that also makes him the Main Character of this dialogue, but we’ll switch MOTM honors. Trent Alexander-Arnold was good but had glaring error that was bailed out by Alisson Becker, who will hate his role in Son’s equalizer. So we go to Hugo, who had four saves, 7-of-10 long passes, and three successful runs out to claim the ball.
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Kane ends his slump
Harry Kane had gone far too long without a Premier League goal, even if he did enter the match with eight goals across all competitions.
His only PL goal came Oct. 17 against Newcastle, so it’s fitting that he returned to the scoresheet with a vintage Kane goal.
Few players love running onto a ball like this from Tanguy Ndombele like Kane does, and boy does he do the business with his opportunity.
A very strong game for a man who could’ve had another goal and maybe two assists with more clinical passing and finishing from teammates.
Jota keeps justifying his purchase
Remember when Jurgen Klopp bought Diogo Jota from Wolves out of left field and the best we could offer was, “He’s very good and streaky but we should probably trust Klopp?”
We should’ve trusted Klopp more in the first place.
Jota is showing his knack for finishing half-chances on a near-weekly basis and he’s also showing a surprisingly-adept aerial ability.
