Tottenham 1-2 Liverpool: Xavi Simons’ red card gave Arne Slott’s side a win in north London thanks to goals from summer signings Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, but they tried hard.
Liverpool continued their mini-resurgence and increased the pressure on Thomas Frank with a win over nine-a-side Tottenham. Xavi Simmons’ red card in the first half gave Liverpool the advantage, and despite a nervy and chaotic end to the game, they made the most of it and went unbeaten in six games in all competitions.
Simmons was sent off for stepping on Virgil van Dijk’s calf in the 33rd minute of a disastrous first half, but the best chance at the time fell to Randal Kolo Muani, who calmly headed home Alisson.
Thankfully, the game came back to life when Arne Slott brought on Alexander Isak after the break. Cristian Romero’s error put Liverpool ahead, and Florian Wirtz found Isak, who had been beaten down by Micky van de Ven, and fired home.
Isak had to be substituted with an injury, but Kolo Muani’s deflected shot hit the crossbar and the goal sparked the match. A few minutes later, Jeremy Frimpong’s cross went to Hugo Ekitike, who rose above Romero and scored over the crossbar to make it 2–0.
Richarlison came off the bench and, following Van Dijk’s air kick, fired the ball into the bottom corner of the goal. But it turned out to be a false dawn as Romero was shown a second yellow card in stoppage time, defeating Spurs, who sit 13th in the Premier League and had their only win in their last eight league games.
read more: Alexander Isak suffers injury seconds after scoring Liverpool goalread more: Premier League: Xavi Simmons sent off for horror tackle, releases statement on Match Center
1. Simmons’ stupidity
After a boring opening half hour, the crowd finally stood up, and that was no coincidence. Simmons was closing in on Van Dijk, who stepped on the Liverpool captain’s calf. Initially given a yellow card, referee John Brooks was sent to the pitchside monitor and the Dutchman’s fate was sealed.
Premier League Match Center said, “After a VAR review, the referee overturned the original yellow card decision for Simmons and gave him a red card for serious foul play.”The referee’s statement said, “After review, Tottenham’s No. 7 with studs caught the Liverpool player (No. 4) at calf height. This was serious foul play.” My final decision is a red card. ”
Gary Neville’s take on Sky Sports was a little different in tone. “Simmons was never going to get there. He raked the studs into the soles of Van Dijk’s legs. That’s not smart. That’s not a good challenge. He’s not even close to football at all. Malicious, mean, reckless? Call it what you will. Stupid.”
2. Conservative and uninspiring
It was a tough game in the first half. Going into the game under pressure, Thomas Frank’s side displayed a cautious approach, looking like they were preparing to frustrate their opponents rather than mount an attack themselves.
Liverpool, without Mo Salah and Codi Gakpo, had a similar set-up, with Arne Slott filling the pitch as a midfielder. Dominik Szoboszlai has replaced Salah on the right in recent weeks, while Wirtz has started on the left, making it very close for Liverpool, with Milos Kerkes and Conor Bradley struggling to attack from full-back.
The half-time statistics showed just how sluggish the game was, with nine shots taken but Spurs recording 0.44 xG to Liverpool’s 0.25 xG. Thankfully, the drama made up for it in the second half.
3. Kudus sums up Spurs
Early in the second half, Spurs had a chance to fight back. The ball came to Mohamed Kudus who was in space. He turned and walked past backwards. The home ground was buzzing. A few seconds later he got the ball again in space, but decided to stand on it. I moan even more. Kudus then tried to find his teammate, who was making an imaginary run, and passed the ball harmlessly out of play for Liverpool’s goal kick. I could hear the ranting and frustration of Spurs fans.
Franks responded by replacing Kudus, previously an exciting winger, with Brennan Johnson for £55m. But his embarrassing few minutes summed up the team’s lack of confidence, confusion in their game plan and appearing worried about taking risks.
4. Liverpool Liftoff
Pundit Peter Crouch suggested Salah’s absence could give Slott the chance to play Isak alongside Ekitike. He was right, but it wasn’t in the way he expected as the two were on the pitch together for less than 10 minutes. But there were still glimpses of Liverpool’s future.
First, it was Wirtz who let Isak slip in with a perfectly weighted through pass. The ex-Newcastle man achieved what he was once known for by confidently driving his finish into the net. But the excitement surrounding Ekitike is likely to be even greater. The way he bullied Romero into no-doubt earned him thousands of clenched fists from Reds fans around the world. He has scored five goals in his last three league games and appears to be playing his part.
5. Chaotic ending
Everything seemed to be in limbo for the Spurs right up until that point. Richarlison’s arrival off the bench had the crowd elated, following a pinball inside the box he was in the right position to slot in a loose ball at the right time. Van Dijk somehow missed his swing at the ball, giving the Brazilian a chance. The Brazilian managed to stir things up by finding the bottom corner and pushing Ekitike’s neck into the ground while picking the ball out of the net.
Romero made things easier for Liverpool with a deft kick to Ibrahima Konate who was challenged. However, Alisson struggled against nine men and had to make several saves from Pedro Polo to earn the three points.
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