Liverpool and Tottenham played out a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane but the visiting side will think they could’ve won the game.
A Liverpool side, coming off a demoralising loss to Burnley, looked to bounce back against a Spurs side that just claimed their first win of the season against Crystal Palace following a late winner from new signing Victor Wanyama.
Both sides came into this one missing some key players, with Emre Can missing due to an ankle injury sustained during Liverpool’s midweek clash with Burton Albion in the EFL Cup, whereas Tottenham were without Moussa Dembele and Hugo Lloris due to suspension and injury, respectively.
The start of the match saw a shaky start for the Reds. The visiting side were victims of giving the ball away numerous times in their own half, but Spurs were unable to find an opening. The first clear chance, however, fell to Liverpool. Mané won the ball off the Tottenham defence and played in Firmino who showed wonderful composure to square the ball to Coutinho, who forced a magnificent save from Vorm.
The Reds should have found themselves 1-0 up, but the score line still read 0-0. Liverpool soon began to see some more half chances come their way; Mané was played through a couple times causing some trouble for Spurs, but no real chances were presented. It could be said, though, that Liverpool were starting to find a foothold in the match.
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Another half chance from Coutinho was followed by a substitution from the home side who brought on new signing Vincent Jansse for Kyle Walker, who seemed to have picked up a knock. The change resulted in Janssen playing as a number 9 and Kane playing in behind at number 10, while Dier moved out to right back.
Rose was soon handed the match’s first yellow card after a late challenge on Henderson before Mané was the recipient of Liverpool’s first yellow card of the day after a late challenge on Wanyama. The deadlock was broken by the visitors after Matip played a beautiful ball to Firmino over the top. The Brazilian then took on Lamela and won a penalty. James Milner stepped up dispatched it confidently, sending Michel Vorm the wrong way.
The two sides then went down the tunnel with the score reading Liverpool 1, Tottenham 0.
The first notable event in the second half came in the 52nd minute when Vertonghen was booked for a foul on Mané. Minutes later Matip hit the bar with his headed attempt from a corner, nearly making it 2-0 to the Reds.
It should have been 2-0, however, as Dier gave the ball away cheaply and was instantly punished down Spurs’ right hand side. Wijnaldum found Lallana on the break who squared it to Mané who then finished beautifully. The wonderful counter attack was ruled offside however, cutting Jurgen Klopp’s animated celebrations short. A very debatable call at that, if anything it would seem as if Lallana’s boot was offside in the move.
If one thing is to be agreed on, however, it is that Liverpool dominated the second as far as chances are concerned. The first real chance for Spurs fell shortly after the hour mark when Dier was found out wide and delivered a fantastic, low driven ball inside Liverpool’s 18-yard line, but Eriksen connected poorly and his effort sailing over the bar.
Lovren was then booked moments later for dissent as after he fouled his opponent and then kicked the ball away foolishly. Mignolet then produced the save of the match following a Spurs’ corner as the insiwnging corned found the head of Tobi Alderweireld. His header was hit hard at the near post but Mignolet was equal to it with a fantastic reactionary stop.
The game began to tilt in favor of the home side as another chance was produced for Kane to find Lamela down the right but his threaded ball was weak enabling Milner to recover and mop up in dramatic fashion. Spurs found their deserved equalizer through Danny Rose as he latched onto Eric Dier’s cross.
Both sides had it all to play for with twenty minutes to play with the score level at 1-1. Kane then got the hook for Spurs’ young star, Josh Onomah in the 83rd minute. 5 minutes later, Sturridge entered the match at Mané’s expense.
Liverpool nearly found a winner on the break after Firmino was played through who prodded the ball on to Lallana whose effort was deflected by Alderweireld. The final whistle blew a minute later with the score finishing Liverpool 1, Tottenham 1.