As Diogo Jota pounced on a poor back pass and rifled the ball home in front of the Kop, Liverpool fans were able to breathe a sigh of relief. They perhaps didn’t realise it at the time, simply due to the sheer madness of the situation, but they had just witnessed a Premier League classic. 4-3 and yet another Anfield memory for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Having finally managed to hit some form, Liverpool’s strange season, one plagued by injuries and inconsistency, has just a handful of games left. While it looks as if their pursuit of Champions League football is out of their hands, for Tottenham Hotspur it was a week of capitulation that was perfectly personified by Jota’s winner in the game’s dying embers. Having looked to claw back a point from 3-0 down, they squandered any chance of finishing in the top four, and Ryan Mason, interim manager until the end of the season, will be hoping to steer the club away from pure calamity throughout the next few games, if he can even fathom exactly where to start after that bank holiday Sunday in Merseyside.
In a game of twists and turns, drama and intrigue, even a managerial hamstring injury, it’s hard to unpack just what a chaotic 90 minutes we witnessed, one that could change the betting odds on the English Premier League for the final weeks of the season. Let’s assess the key moments as Liverpool beat Spurs 4-3 in one of the games of the season.
Hosts flying start
There was so much to admire about Liverpool’s fast start to the game, and it took just 15 minutes for the hosts to cruise into a 3-0 lead. It looked as if the ‘red arrows’ of yesteryear were restored in a new-look Liverpool front three, Luis Diaz making his first start since October was involved with each goal, grabbing the second with a well-timed volley. Cody Gakpo has finally looked to show his worth as a long-term successor for the departing Roberto Firmino, with the Dutchman linking play well and winning the penalty for Mohamed Salah to convert, full of confidence despite missing both from the spot this season. Liverpool were in cruise control and it was perhaps their complacency that cost them.
Spurs’ frustration and comeback
Just a week on from a 6-1 thrashing away at Newcastle, more misery was inflicted on Spurs fans on the road, with many leaving as Salah made it 3-0. As the Levy out chants began to drown out the home cheers, those that did stay in the ground saw Harry Kane’s consolation restore a small shred of hope in the Anfield Road end, before Heung-Min Son’s finish in the second half set up an exciting final few minutes. Mason felt Jota should have been sent off after a high-foot on Oliver Skipp, with the caretaker boss, whose career was ended by a head injury, branding the refereeing on the day a disgrace.
“It was a big decision, a crucial decision and one you can’t really miss. I find it hard and impossible to really understand why,” he said. “Probably more so an experienced referee in the VAR room (David Coote), you want him to help the official on the pitch in that moment.”
Late drama
As Liverpool prepared to defend a dangerous set-piece it was an old foe in Richarlison who cropped up with the leveller. The Brazilian had failed to score in the Premier League up until that point but of course the former Everton man was overcome with emotion as he looked to have secured a crucial point for his new side, stunning EPL betting tips.
He had barely finished his third different celebration and got his shirt back on before compatriot Lucas Moura’s shoddy back pass allowed Jota in behind the Spurs defence to make it 4-3. Klopp’s reaction said it all, as he sprinted in the face of the officials on the sideline, pulling his hamstring in the process. It made for a limp celebration in front of the Kop compared to his usual fist pumps, but it was a seven-goal thriller that many of us will talk about for years to come.