Another 90th-minute goal saw the Reds scrape a win dramatically. Liverpool surrendered a scruffy goal but then scored one of their own to send Tottenham Hotspur back to open their new ground following a 2-1 defeat.
The home side jumped on the visitors early, dominating the opening half. From the first whistle, Liverpool looked like they might run away with the match. An early goal from Roberto Firmino opened the scoring and suggested that it was merely the beginning.
However, to Spurs’ credit, the match settled into a much more sloppy affair with possession swapped throughout the midfield. Neither side were able to muster much of a final-third threat. Just getting into the opponent’s box became a battle; passing lanes were hard to find and disappeared even more quickly.
Liverpool eventually found pinging the ball from one sideline to the other gave them an edge going forward. More often than not, it worked well. Occasionally, a pass that wound up short confused, but the Reds managed.
Failing to find another goal, however, meant that Spurs’ equaliser presented another challenge altogether.
Even though Hugo Lloris palmed Mohamed Salah’s header off the line, there was little for Toby Alderweireld to do but bundle the ball over the line for an own goal. It left the Kop in a flurry of limbs and Liverpool atop the table again.
Here are four findings from the match.
Buccaneer Bobby
Roberto Firmino was back to his lynchpin ways against Tottenham, especially in the first half. The Brazilian floated through the centre with the kind of unpredictability that marks some of his best form of the campaign.
Once again, he slotted between the two centre-backs and got his head to a cross to put the Reds in front. It helped to cap a strong start from the home side.
His first half, in particular, called to memory what makes him one of the most important players in the side.
Dropping deep, driving forward, or just getting on the ball and dictating play, he is the bellwether for the side’s backbone. Simply put, when Firmino plays well, Liverpool play well.
Flying full-backs
Doubts about Trent Alexander-Arnold’s fitness proved unfounded as he returned from the international break to take his place at right-back once again.
The Scouser has a particularly strong first half, defending well and finding opportunities to get forward. Plus, his set-piece delivery showed great promise, as the Reds revealed an array of new looks for corners.
Yet, Andy Robertson put in another Man of the Match performance. Not only did his whipped cross find Roberto Firmino for the first goal, but the Scot was also up and down the left flank with great effect.
More than once, he made timely interventions at the back post to prevent scoring chances, too. Having both full-backs in this form is essential for the club’s title push in both remaining competitions.
Dutch dynamo
To say Virgil van Dijk is world class is a decided understatement. While much might have been made about the goal that he allowed Serge Gnabry to score while on international duty, it was one of the rare times the central defender has been beaten on any level in nearly a year.
Still, returning to Merseyside, the world’s best defender showed his form did not even take a dent.
Despite conceding a goal at Anfield on his watch, Van Dijk was supreme against Spurs. His recovery in the first half to close and shut down Harry Kane was exquisite.
Then late in the second half, the big man slowed a Spurs two-on-one counter to near perfection, shepherding Moussa Sissoko from finding Son Heung-min until the Frenchman could only blaze a wild shot off target with his left foot. Plus, he rightfully finished the match with the captain’s armband.
Fortune’s fate
Liverpool left it late to take all three points and match Manchester City’s win, as both clubs chase the league title. Having opened the scoring, the Reds were never able to double their advantage and cement their early dominance.
It made the match even tenser, as Spurs found a goal that had been coming since the restart of the second half. Still, Lady Luck saved something for Liverpool.
No club can hope to win a title without fortune as a friend. Having had the slight wobble with their brief run of draws, Liverpool need to maintain the maximum-point pace to keep up the pressure on City.
Yet, snatching a late goal against Spurs in front of the Kop to retake the league lead with six fixtures left will have stoked belief that fate may have the finger on the scales in favour of the Reds.