Image Credit- Evening Standard
With Liverpool dominating the Premier League this season so far, it came as a surprise that Harry Kane scored for Tottenham only 48 seconds into the match. Spurs have won only three of their past 12 league games, so a win against league table leaders Liverpool at Anfield would have proved pivotal in their campaign.
However, their lead was short lived as Liverpool played much more offensively as the first half commenced. Although Kane, Son Heung Min and Christian Eriksen had some shots on target, Liverpool dominated possession and the ball was in Tottenham’s half for the majority of the first 45 minutes.
Despite this, Liverpool were unable to capitalise on their set pieces, with both Sadio Mane’s and Mohammed Salah’s shots being saved, but it was becoming apparent that Liverpool’s relentless pressure would pay off soon. It was only really due to the excellent goalkeeping of Tottenham’s Paulo Gazzaniga that the Reds weren’t able to equalise.
The hosts started the second half aggressively, but were threatened by a well-executed shot by Son, which hit the post.
However Liverpool’s strong attacking tactics paid off when Jordan Henderson sent the ball screaming through the Spurs defence and into the corner of the net, meaning the Reds got their much needed equaliser.
Klopp’s side continued to dominate possession for the rest of the second half, with the equaliser providing belief for both the players and fans.
One could argue it was the numerous fouls the Spurs players committed that contributed to their downfall on Sunday. Moussa Sissoko was booked after pushing Robertson during a dispute over a foul and Harry Winks also fouled Mane. Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele was given the first yellow card of his Premier League career.
This gave Liverpool plenty of chances to equalise from set pieces, meaning they could continue to apply pressure in Tottenham’s half. Finally and most crucially was Serge Aurier’s foul in the penalty area, where he caught Mane’s leg. Salah took the resulting penalty and smashed the ball into the back of the Spurs net, extending Liverpool’s home record to 45 games unbeaten.
In contrast, Spurs have dropped to 11th in the league and have now won only one of their last 16 games with Liverpool, with their only win in April 2017 at Wembley.