Tottenham held Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at Anfield, ending Liverpool’s Premier League title ambitions and chase against its greatest rivals Manchester City.
As the game slid away from Liverpool at Anfield last night, Jurgen Klopp’s team came back with every ounce of energy, every minute of wrath, and every ounce of resistance they could manage.
Liverpool gave it their all. But this was the first time either of the two clubs vying for the title has blinked. Win had come after victory had come after win. It was relentless, but Liverpool faced an opponent in Spurs who would not give up and would not be intimidated.
From the start, Liverpool put Spurs under a lot of pressure, but everyone knew this was going to be a tough game. As the home team stormed forward time after time, the roars of the crowd were deafening.
Spurs made it plain early on that they were not coming to Merseyside as Liverpool’s stooges, and Dejan Kulusevski has become a ready foil to their rapier thrusts forward.
Spurs had already cracked the code to dismantling Manchester City, and with Liverpool dominating the early stages, there were moments of concern when Spurs burst through. In the seventh minute, Kane crossed for Son, forcing Alisson to race from his line, and seven minutes later, Liverpool was thankful for Jordan Henderson’s brilliant stop when Kane blasted a left-footed attempt goalwards.
Liverpool’s first chance, which came from a set-piece, came midway through the first half. Henderson forced a corner at the cost of a horrific ankle injury from Cristian Romero’s scything tackle, and when Andy Robertson swung it in from the left, Virgil van Dijk rose beautifully at the back post, but his header sailed just over the bar.
Liverpool came close again six minutes later. Ryan Sessegnon got to the ball ahead of Henderson in his rush to block a cross but mistakenly looped a header towards the back post, where Salah was waiting. Hugo Lloris lunged himself to his right and diverted the ball away from the freshly awarded FWA Footballer of the Year, Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah.
Liverpool struggled to create opportunities in open play, but they came close to scoring from another corner seven minutes before halftime. Van Dijk rose highest in the box to meet the ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold, and his header skimmed the top of the crossbar this time. Lloris made a great stop from Diaz two minutes later.
The Spurs danger remained, and a minute later, it was the visitors who came close to taking the lead. When faced by Van Dijk, Son broke from midfield but sent the ball square to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Hojbjerg regained his composure before unleashing a wicked, skimming low shot that eluded Alisson’s right hand but rebounded to safety against the post.
Spurs broke through again 12 minutes after halftime, confirming Liverpool supporters’ worst fears. Emerson Royal fired a long ball out of defense that appeared to offer little threat, but Kane wonderfully took it down and moved on goal. He considered shooting but instead sent the ball wide to Sessegnon, who blasted a superb cross into the path of Son, who crossed the line.
The Spurs fans at the Anfield Road End went crazy after the goal. It was Liverpool’s second goal at home in the Premier League this season, following Milot Rashica’s score for Norwich on February 19th. Spurs came close to scoring again two minutes later when Sessegnon linked up with Son once more. Sessegnon’s touch was a little too heavy this time, as the ball deflected off Son’s foot and behind him for a goal kick.
It was like the Alamo now. Liverpool put everything they had at Tottenham. And the Spurs did their best to resist everything. Salah was denied by Ben Davies’ diving block after defender after defender put themselves in front of the ball. For a time, it appeared as if their defense would not be breached.
Diaz then received the ball 25 yards out and danced left to right across the face of the Spurs box with a quarter of an hour left. When he got space for a shot, it deflected off Rodrigo Bentancur and sailed past Lloris into the net. The classic Bill Shankly myth about the Kop sucking shots towards the rival goal seems to have been revived.
The stadium exploded. On the touchline, Klopp leaped, punched, and hugged. The home fans’ spirits were revived. Spurs missed a great late opportunity when Hojbjerg rose to meet a cross unmarked six yards out and instead of shooting for goal, he attempted to head the ball back into the path of a teammate. Liverpool managed to escape, but the seemingly impossible dream evaporated.