Liverpool 4-3 Tottenham Hotspur – Crazy late drama sees Jurgen Klopp’s side edge out Spurs at Anfield

Diogo Jota struck a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Liverpool moved above Tottenham and into fifth spot with an edgy 4-3 victory after the visitors had hit back from 3-0 down at Anfield.

The Merseysiders roared out of the traps with Curtis Jones volleying home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s sumptuous cross after just three minutes.

Two minutes later, it was two as Luis Diaz acrobatically volleyed in Cody Gakpo’s cross before Mo Salah put the hosts three up from the penalty spot on 15 minutes.

It was the Egyptian forward’s 184th goal on his 300th appearance for Liverpool, moving him above Robbie Fowler into sixth place in the club’s all-time list of top scorers.

At this point it looked like being another Tottenham collapse akin to the debacle at Newcastle last week, but The Reds took their foot off the gas and the visitors grabbed a lifeline.

Heung-Min Son had a shot cleared off the line but Liverpool did not heed the warning and Harry Kane volleyed in seconds later to give Ryan Mason and his players renewed hope heading into the break.

It was Kane’s 208th Premier League goal that moved him joint-second alongside Wayne Rooney in the all-time leading goalscorers, behind only Alan Shearer (260).

Tottenham continued their improvement in the second half, and after Son and Cristian Romero both hit the woodwork in quick succession, they made a real game of it when Son raced free to tuck past Alisson 13 minutes from time.

Spurs then levelled in stoppage time when substitute Richarlison nodded in Son’s free kick before Jota broke their hearts with a sensational last-gasp strike 99 seconds later.

The result sees Liverpool jump into fifth place, two points ahead of Spurs, who drop to sixth. Jurgen Klopp’s side are now seven points adrift of Manchester United in fourth spot, having played a game more.

Next up, Liverpool entertain Fulham on Wednesday night prior to hosting Brentford on Saturday. Tottenham are at home to Crystal Palace.

Talking point – A Premier League classic as Spurs end up ‘doing a Spurs’ despite a brilliant response.

After 15 minutes Liverpool were rampant and Tottenham fans were heading for the exits.

They didn’t want to witness another collapse like the one at Newcastle and it was certainly looking that way for most of the first half.

However, this Tottenham display was more like the show of spirit in midweek against Manchester United and they mounted another brilliant comeback to level at 3-3 in stoppage time.

In truth, they fully deserved a point, but after all of that hard work, they gifted a misplaced pass to Jota to race in and sneak the win for Liverpool as Tottenham effectively snatched defeat from the jaws of a positive result.

The Champions League places may well be beyond both sides, but Liverpool are now favourites for fifth spot and will hope to continue a winning run to the end of the season and take advantage of any major slip by Manchester United or Newcastle in the unlikely event that happens.

Player of the match – Mo Salah (Liverpool)

After a couple of recent penalty misses the Reds talisman kept his nerve to score in seven consecutive Liverpool appearances at Anfield in all competitions for the first time. There was a clear appetite for the contest in the Egyptian’s overall display, continually tracking back and causing panic in the Spurs defence for most of the contest.

Player Ratings

Match Highlights

03’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 1-0 Tottenham. Curtis Jones arrives on cue to volley a low effort beyond Forster from Alexander-Arnold’s sublime cross from the right.

05’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 2-0 Tottenham. Diaz caps his first start since October with a goal as he slides in to a near-post volley from Gakpo’s cut back from the right.

15’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 3-0 Tottenham. Salah clips his penalty down the middle as Forster dives to his left. The spot kick was awarded following Romero’s poor challenge on Gakpo.

39’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 3-1 Tottenham. Kane volleys one back for the visitors after Perisic had surged into the space vacated by TAA to beat VVD and cross for the striker to do the rest.

40’ – TOTTENHAM CHANCE! It’s almost 3-2! Spurs are in again. Kulusevski beats Van Dijk and Robertson but his low shot back across Alisson is brilliantly blocked by the goalkeeper’s feet.

54’ – TOTTENHAM CHANCES! Spurs raid down the right. It’s fed into Son who is unfortunate with a curling 20-yard shot that comes back off Alisson’s left-hand post. Seconds later, the visitors come again and Romero’s volley on the stretch from Kane’s cross clips the opposite post.

77’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 3-2 Tottenham. Son is allowed to race onto a simple ball over the tap and roll a shot beyond Alisson.

90+3’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 3-3 Tottenham. Richarlison gets the slightest of touches to head in Son’s free kick to level in dramatic fashion!

90+4’ – GOAL! – Liverpool 4-3 Tottenham. Jota puts the hosts back in front as he glides on to Lucas Moura’s poor pass and rifles a low shot into the far corner.

Key Stats

Alexander-Arnold has assisted a goal in five consecutive Premier League appearances for the second time in his career (previously in August 2019), and is the only player in the competition’s history to have done so twice.

Spurs conceded a league-high 13 goals in the opening 15 minutes of Premier League matches this season, while only three teams have ever conceded more in this period in a single campaign: Wolves in 11-12 (16), Ipswich in 94-95 (15) and Sheff Utd in 93-94 (14).

Only Andy Cole (11) has scored more Premier League goals against Liverpool than Harry Kane (9).

There were just 99 seconds between Richarlison equalising for Spurs and Diogo Jota scoring the winning goal to make it 4-3 to Liverpool.