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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Andy Dunn

Tottenham sink to new low as valiant Anfield comeback all in vain after Lucas' error

If any Spurs fans were moved to tears by Diogo Jota’s dramatic late winner at Anfield, even they will probably see the funny side in the end.

Well, probably. Those who had stayed beyond the opening 15 minutes - during which Liverpool scored three and could have had six - had seen the inglorious redefinition of ‘ Spursy.’

This was Spursy, only with capital S, P, U, R, S and Y. Even by Tottenham’s flaky standards, you could not have made this up.

Not only did they come back from another rancid early capitulation, they missed a clutch of opportunities and probably fancied their chances of a winner after Richarlison’s 93rd minute equaliser.

Instead, Lucas Moura - last seen coming on as an 82nd minute substitute at Goodison Park and getting sent off six minutes later, helping Everton salvage a point - rolled the ball into the path of Jota and Jurgen Klopp lost his senses.

Moura, who has not started a Premier League game this season, had only been on the field for only four minutes.

It was hard not to feel for Moura and for many of his team-mates who had at least shown some backbone after that disastrous start. And after another dismal early capitulation, it would also be easy to focus on the continuing Spurs shambles.

Harry Kane consoles Lucas after his error cost Spurs a point at Anfield (Getty Images)

It would be easy to wonder if Harry Kane has only four games left in a Tottenham career that has now brought him 208 Premier League goals - tied second with Wayne Rooney on the all-time list.

It would be easy to ask if Spurs will be a truly elite force with genuine hopes of competing for the game’s highest honours while Daniel Levy runs the show.

It would be easy to shake your head at how dysfunctional Tottenham have become. It would be easy to double-check the number of England caps earned by Eric Dier.

But that would be doing a disservice to Curtis Jones, whose volleyed conversion of a trademark Trent Alexander-Arnold assist set the tone for Liverpool’s first-quarter performance.

That would be doing a disservice to Luis Diaz, who marked his first start in over six months by expertly hooking in Cody Gakpo’s pull-back.

That would be doing a disservice to Mohamed Salah, making his 300th appearance for Liverpool and, from the penalty spot after a Cristian Romero foul on Gakpo, scoring his 184th goal for the club, putting him sixth on Liverpool’s all-time list.

But in a match that probably encapsulated the reasons why neither of these clubs is likely to finish in a spot that qualifies them for the Champions League, it was hard not to wonder what the ramifications of another shocking spell of Spurs football will be in regard to Kane’s future.

Tottenham conceded straight after scoring their equaliser (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

That was before the comeback, however, led by Kane smashing home an Ivan Perisic pass before half-time and Son Heung-min sliding in a second after 77 minutes before seemingly being completed when the Korean’s free-kick was glanced in by Richarlison in the third minute of added time.

But then came Moura’s aberration, Jota’s composure and Klopp both making a fool of himself and disgracing himself on the touchline.

Meanwhile, stand-in boss Ryan Mason looked utterly shell-shocked, not to mention furious that Jota was still on the pitch after a high boot brought blood for Oliver Skipp’s head.

He probably thought he had seen everything ’Spursy’ in his long association with the club. But he had seen nothing like this.

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