Thanks for joining. Here is David Hytner’s report ...
Klopp: “It was a super game, I loved it. It was us at our best.
“The best thing of my team today was you could not see the influence of the (Spurs) goal.”
The Liverpool boss goes on to praise Gazzaniga, too. Klopp says Van Dijk has a dead leg and Salah’s ankle issue flared up.
Kane: “We scored early on ... great start and then we dropped a little deep, soaked pressure and got to half-time.
“It’s a tough place to come and Liverpool are getting all those breaks at the moment.”
Henderson: “First half I thought we played really well, I didn’t think we started well but we reacted to the goal brilliant. We deserved a couple of goals but their goalkeeper made a couple of great saves.”
Full time: Liverpool 2-1 Spurs
Peep peep! Liverpool go six points clear with a rousing and thoroughly deserved comeback victory. They were behind after 47 seconds but responded ferociously to win the match through goals from Jordan Henderson and a Mo Salah penalty. For parts of the game, they were as near to unstoppable as dammit.
90+4 min Alderweireld heads straight at Alisson! That was half a chance.
90+4 min A corner to Spurs. Gazzaniga is up.
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90+3 min Divock Origi replaces Roberto Firmino, who has had a relatively quiet game.
90+2 min Son draws a smart plunging save from Alisson with a snapshot from the edge of the box.
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90 min Four minutes of added time. Milner is booked for a naughty tackle on Lucas Moura. This has been a breathless match.
89 min: Rose misses a good chance to equalise. He beat the sleeping Alexander-Arnold to a long crossfield pass, came inside Gomez confidently ... and then blasted the ball over the bar with his right foot.
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88 min It’s now Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace, because Sokratis’s second goal has been VARed.
88 min Christian Eriksen, who has had a stinker, is replaced by Giovani Lo Celso.
87 min Liverpool have invited pressure since going ahead, although Virgil van Dijk is still strolling round with a resting heart rate. Spurs, for all their newfound joy of possession, don’t look like creating anything.
86 min Sokratis has scored his second goal to put Arsenal 3-2 up against Crystal Palace.
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85 min Mo Salah leaves the field with what looks like an ankle problem. Joe Gomez replaces him.
83 min Spurs bring on Lucas Moura for poor old Serge Aurier.
82 min Rose is fouled by Alexander-Arnold, and a few Spurs players try unsuccessfully to get him sent off. It was a foul but not a second yellow card.
81 min It’s now Norwich 0-3 Manchester United, with Anthony Martial scoring.
80 min Ndombele wins another corner for Spurs, who have had their best attacking spell of the entire match since going behind. Human nature is the strangest thing.
79 min Son’s excellent cross from the left just clears Kane and is put behind for a corner. It’s half cleared, and then Kane has a goal disallowed from Son’s pass. It’s the right decision - Son was offside.
78 min There is little praise too high for this Liverpool performance. They started the game 1-0 down, effectively. It took them 15 or 20 minutes to find their bearings, and since then they have been irresistible.
77 min James Milner comes on to replace Gini Wijnaldum.
77 min “Amazed that you haven’t mentioned how absolutely atrocious Eriksen has been,” says Niall Sheerin. “I was surprised to see him last the first half and can’t believe Winks got hooked before him. He has given the ball away every time he’s had possession and has been invisible defensively. His head’s been turned, he looks like couldn’t care. Get him off and out.”
I haven’t had time! But yes, he has been abysmal. You can understand him getting the runaround from Robertson, but he has been an irrelevance with the ball.
Salah danced around the ball and then blasted it low to his right. It wasn’t a great penalty, in truth, but Gazzaniga stood still and that was that.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 Spurs (Salah 75 pen)
Salah scores!
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Oh dear. Aurier did quite well to get back and dispossess Mane ... but then kicked the back of Mane’s leg as he tried to clear the ball. It’s a clear penalty.
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74 min: PENALTY TO LIVERPOOL! This will be checked, but it looks like a moronic piece of defending from Serge Aurier.
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73 min Alexander-Arnold, who has had a sensational game going forward, wins another corner. It’s taken short and moved back to Henderson, who crosses too close to Gazzaniga.
72 min Ndombele is booked for this or that.
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72 min After good play from Trent Alexander-Bruyne and then Mo Salah, Firmino rattles a shot that is blocked by Sanchez.
71 min Aurier’s overhit cross is volleyed into the side netting by the stretching Alli. I think the ball was out of play by the time he made contact with it.
70 min Alexander-Arnold drives a left-wing corner to Salah on the edge of the area. He waits for the ball to bounce but then hooks it a few yards wide.
69 min Robertson plays a give-and-go with Mane and crosses into the six-yard area, where Sanchez does brilliantly to divert the ball behind for a corner. Robertson has beaten Eriksen with disdainful ease all day.
67 min Sissoko storms through midfield but then overhits a through pass to Son. That was a good opportunity for Spurs.
67 min But Spurs lead emphatically on clearances: 29-4, in fact.
67 min Liverpool have had 75 per cent of the possession, and 11 shots on target to Spurs’ one.
66 min Salah whips a shot straight at Gazzaniga from the right side of the area.
64 min Alexander-Arnold is booked for a hack at Kane.
63 min Spurs do make a change, with Tanguy Ndombele replacing Harry Winks. That’s odd as Winks has been one of their better players, although he is probably shattered from all the firefighting.
62 min I’ve just remembered that Dele Alli is on the pitch. I’m really surprised they haven’t changed their policy of defending narrowly, because Alexander-Arnold and Robertson are running the game. Another wicked cross from Alexander-Arnold just evades Firmino.
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61 min More good news for Liverpool: their beloved Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace have equalised at the Emirates.
60 min Wijnaldum heads straight at Gazzaniga from another beautiful Alexander-Arnold cross. Just before that, he pulled that Alexander-Arnold’s cross at the far post but couldn’t find an angle for a shot.
59 min This has been a stunning response to adversity from Liverpool. Since around the 25th minute, they have attacked with volcanic heat.
57 min Alexander-Arnold’s angled throw from the right somehow bounces through to Firmino, who hammers a shot at the near post from a very tight angle. It’s blocked by the well-positioned Gazzaniga, who for a split-second thought it had slithered between his legs. That’s his seventh or eighth save of the game.
57 min “Can I get this straight,” says John Potter. “You’re not covering the Norwich Man U game? Is this a first? Is this official confirmation Man U are just a bog-standard team now?”
I think the only reason is that it’s not being televised in this country.
55 min Salah’s volley is straight at Gazzaniga. This game is only going one way. Spurs can’t live with Liverpool’s intensity.
Fabinho floated a nothing ball into the area towards Firmino, who went over after a little shove from Rose. While everyone was appealing for a penalty, Henderson guided the bouncing ball into the far corner with his left foot. That’s an excellent finish.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Spurs (Henderson 52)
Jordan Henderson equalises for Liverpool!
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50 min Lovren is booked for a foul on Kane.
48 min: Son hits the bar! The chance came straight from a brilliant goalkick/pass by Gazzaniga, swished from right to left and in behind Lovren. Son ran clear, went round Alisson and lifted the ball onto the crossbar from a tight angle.
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47 min: Fine save from Gazzaniga! Robertson ran at Eriksen and crossed towards the far post, where Firmino got between defenders and connected with a good downward header that was blocked desperately by Gazzaniga.
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46 min Peep peep! Liverpool begin the second half. No personnel changes, although it looks like Spurs may have switched from 4-2-3-1 to 4-1-4-1.
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“Sigh,” says Matt Dony. “I’m beginning to dislike Sundays.”
Trust me, you’ll love them again in an hour’s time.
Even the nicest man in the world hates it
VAR is junk
— Chris Woakes (@chriswoakes) October 27, 2019
Half-time reading
Half time: Liverpool 0-1 Spurs
Peep peep! Spurs lead through Harry Kane’s first-minute goal. They started very well, not just with the goal, but were battered in the last 20 minutes with Liverpool at their high-octane best. See you soon for the second half.
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45+1 min Liverpool appeal for a penalty when Mane’s cross hits the shoulder of Sanchez. It was an inelegant bit of defending, but it was just about legal.
45 min Three minutes of added time. Martin Tyler reminds us that Spurs haven’t won an away game in the league since January. And Liverpool haven’t lost at home in the league for about two and a half years.
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44 min Manchester United have now missed two penalties at Norwich - one from Rashford, one from Martial - though they still lead 2-0. If they ever learn to score penalties they’ll be dangerous.
42 min Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick hits the top of the wall. Spurs desperately need half-time.
41 min Mane is fouled by Winks 25 yards from goal. The free-kick is slightly to the left of centre, perfect for Alexander-Arnold...
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40 min There’s some latent niggle in this game, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there was a red card in the second half.
38 min Alexander-Arnold’s long cross is clipped back in the six-yard box by Firmino, where the stretching Sanchez unwittingly stabs the ball back to his keeper Gazzaniga.
37 min Rose is booked for flattening Henderson. Spurs are angry because Sissoko had been fouled a moment earlier, but the referee waved play on.
36 min Sissoko is booked for stopping Robertson from taking a quick free-kick. Spurs have done that a few times in this half.
35 min Another goal at the Emirates: penalty fiend Luka Milivojevic has made it Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace.
34 min The game has changed completely. Spurs are struggling to get out of their third, never mind their half.
32 min Marcus Rashford has put Manchester United 2-0 up at Norwich. Arsenal still lead Crystal Palace 2-0.
31 min Now Mane misses a great chance, flicking a header wide from Alexander-Arnold’s stunning pass. It was a brilliant ball, lofted over the defence from a very narrow position. It’s almost an insult to call it a cross. Liverpool have been quite awesome in the last five minutes.
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30 min Liverpool are right into their work now. Robertson surges into the box and drags the ball back towards the edge of the area. It rolls further back to Alexander-Arnold, whose thumping strike is palmed away by the diving Gazzaniga. It was a really comfortable save, although it was a superb hit from Alexander-Arnold.
29 min Gazzaniga makes another good save, leaping to tip van Dijk’s close-range header over the bar. It came from a beautiful dipping free-kick by Alexander-Arnolld on the right.
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27 min Gazzaniga makes a vital double save. He stretched a long way to his left to flap away Salah’s rising drive from the edge of the area, then got to his feet quickly to block Firmino’s follow-up. He should maybe have pushed Salah’s shot behind for a corner; if it was a mistake, he redeeemed it with the second save.
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27 min “Is it too early,” says Jim Lacoss, “to substitute Lovren?”
I think he was taken off after 31 minutes against Spurs a couple of years ago, so it’s nearly time.
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26 min “Kane is basically a goal octopus, able to readjust his body in any direction that his predatory instincts tell him to,” says Justin Kavanagh. “With his convivial bonhomie and his WWI RAF Pilot looks, he is a peculiar genius indeed.”
24 min Almost a second goal for Spurs! Kane’s cushioned volley is just too far in front of Alli, who would have had an open goal, and then Eriksen mishits a volley that bobbles just wide. That said, I think it might have been disallowed for offside against Kane had they scored.
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23 min More good news for Matt Dony: Scott McTominay has put Manchester United 1-0 up at Carrow Road.
22 min The home fans aren’t impressed with the amount of time Spurs are taking over restarts. It’s a fascinating game, full of intriguing head-to-heads: Kane v Lovren, Alexander-Arnold v Son, Robertson v Eriksen.
21 min Mane heads a long punt down to Salah, who lashes the bouncing ball straight at Gazzaniga from 20 yards. Spurs break through Kane and then Son, whose cross shot is blocked by Alexander-Arnold. That was good defending.
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20 min Alexander-Arnold’s outswinging corner is headed over by Mane, who lost Alli at the near post. The ball was moving away from him, so it wasn’t much of a chance.
18 min Salah wins a corner for Liverpool, who are starting to impose themselves on Spurs. Alexander-Arnold’s outswinger is headed clear, but he gets another chance to cross and wins a second corner.
17 min Aurier is down and in a bit of pain after a collision with his team-mate Alderweireld. Both teams could probably use the breather after a frantic start to the game.
14 min Robertson plays a nice give-and-go with Mane, leaves Eriksen in his slipstream and slides a low ball across the face that is claimed by Gazzaniga.
12 min Arsenal are already 2-0 up against Crystal Palace, since you asked. The goals have been scored by their centre-halves, Sokratis and David Luiz.
11 min Fabinho’s long-range stinger is blocked. Liverpool haven’t got going yet.
9 min Jurgen Klopp flagged before the game that Spurs like to play Son on the left against Liverpool, so that he counter-attack into the space left by the marauding Alexander-Arnold. It’s a really interesting battle, that, and Son looks Spurs’ biggest threat at the moment.
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7 min Matt Dony isn’t in a ditch after all! But he might be if this continues. “Ahoy hoy. Last Sunday, I had an enormously stressful but ultimately brilliant morning, then got horribly frustrated by watching United relocate their mojo and actually, y’know, play some decent football. This Sunday, I’ve had an enormously stressful but ultimately heartbreaking morning, so I’m hoping for a much better afternoon.
“Spurs looked ominously good against Red Star, with Kane in particular playing some fantastic passes. I know it was ‘only’ Red Star (and they were pretty darn poor), but I’m worried that Spurs may have played themselves back into some kind of form at just the wrong time. Glad to have Salah back. I hope Ox and/or Keita get a chance to come on in the second half.”
6 min It’s been a confident, almost strutting start from Spurs.
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4 min “As a Liverpool fan, it’s the midfield that worries me,” says Alex Monro. “Every team now knows to block out A-A and Robertson, which means you need creativity in the middle. With Shaqiri injured and Ox benched, not sure we’ve got much of that out In the middle. Basically, we should have bought Eriksen!”
I think that’s a bit harsh on Fabinho in particular. Much as I love Eriksen, I’m not sure he would get into this Liverpool team.
3 min Spurs have started in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Eriksen on the right and Son on the left. That’s where the game came from. He ran at Alexander-Arnold, cut back infield and hit a speculative shot that ultimately led to the goal. Sissoko also played his part with a surging run through midfield and a pass to Son.
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GOAL GIVEN! Liverpool 0-1 Spurs (Kane 1)
Kane was onside and Spurs are ahead! Son cut inside Henderson, onto his right foot, and whacked a 20-yard shot that took a big deflection off the head of Lovren and flew onto the near post. It rebounded to Kane, who stooped to steer a header wide of Alisson from eight yards. That’s a deceptively good finish. I thought Kane might have been offside when Son had the shot, but he was played on by Virgil van Dijk.
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GOAL? Liverpool 0-1 Spurs (Kane 47 secs)
This might be disallowed for offside.
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14 seconds Mane is almost put through on goal by Firmino. With a better first touch, he would have been clear.
1 min Peep peep! Spurs, in which, kick off from left to right. Liverpool are in red.
There’s a belting atmosphere at Anfield, with a particularly lusty rendition on You’ll Never Walk Alone preceding the match.
An email! “Afternoon Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “It’s not been a great day so far for teams wearing red. Wales, Aberdeen, Cardiff (well they used to wear red, for a bit), Bristol City. This is the kind of analysis you only find on the MBM. Hashtag just saying. I hope Matt Dony is ok.”
Given his emails before, during and after Wales’ Euro 2016 semi-final, and his silence today, I’m slightly worried about his joie de vivre levels.
Liverpool are three points clear of Manchester City with this game in hand. Their next home match, a fortnight today, is against City. Spurs start the matcn in 10th place and could, depending on results elsewhere, finish the day anywhere between sixth and 14th.
Newcastle 1-1 Wolves was the final score in the early Premier League game, a decent enough result for both sides.
Pre-match reading
Team news
Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Substitutes: Adrian, Milner, Keita, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lallana, Origi.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-D-2) Gazzaniga; Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Rose; Winks; Sissoko, Eriksen; Alli; Son, Kane.
Substitutes: Austin, Davies, Vertonghen, Dier, Ndombele, Lo Celso, Lucas Moura.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
Preamble
Hello. We all love a quiet, lazy day at work, and I’ll elaborate on this theme as soon as I’ve finished ordering a new toaster. For us normal folk, some days are much busier than others, and we’d struggle to function if we had a huge deadline every time we walked into the office.
Yet that, pretty much, is what Liverpool have had to deal with in their Premier League day job for the last 14 months. Since the start of last season they have played 47 games, knowing before each one that they could barely afford to draw, never mind lose. It’s not like the old days, when title races didn’t really get going until the new year. Jose Mourinho changed that culture, and Pep Guardiola has made the pace even more demanding. These days, a title race is a marathon and a sprint.
Liverpool have won 38 of those 47 matches, losing just one at the Etihad Stadium in January. It’s a miracle of concentration, resilience, self-belief endurance and excellence – especially as they don’t yet have anything to show for it.
All they can do, cliche fans, is take each game as it comes. Some are tougher than others - today’s Champions League final reunion with Spurs, for example, has a slight whiff of danger about it. But they go into every game knowing that that sly old sage Vanilla Ice was right all along, and that anything less than the best really is a felony.
There are no lazy days at the office coming up for Liverpool. No sickies, no holiday, no Tweetdeck, no fag breaks, no long lunches, no watercooler chit-chat, no urge-driven browsing, no early finishes. It’s immensely hard work. But the potential prize - a first title since 1990, and Anfield immortality - is worth it.
Kick off is at 4.30pm.
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