David Hytner’s match report has landed, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company and emails, today and throughout the year. Merry Christmas!
A note on Robertson’s goal - the law has changed, so Salah’s accidental handball in the build up is irrelevant. The only thing Spurs might have argued was that they should have had a penalty at the other end for a push by Alexander-Arnold on Alli. It wasn’t a foul, though, and it was notable that one of the few Spurs players who didn’t appeal was Alli.
The thoughts of Harold Kane
“It was a great game to be involved in, and I’m sure it was to watch as well. Plenty of chances at both ends. We had some clear chances that we have to do better with, to be honest. It was a tough battle against a very good side. It was nice to score – it’s been a while – but on another day I might have had a hat-trick.
“[Did you think you might be sent off for the tackle on Andy Robertson?] No, not at all. I thought it was a strong tackle, but I thought I won the ball [err…], obviously I haven’t seen it back. When you’re playing against top sides and you’re fighting for points, sometimes there will be strong tackles. When you slow stuff down it makes it look worse. That’s what VAR is there for – it stayed as a yellow card and we got on with the game.
“There’s definitely progress [under Conte]. Today was our toughest game so far but I thought we did well – we created a lot of chances and showed a lot of character to equalise so soon after going behind. We’ve waited a couple of weeks with the games being cancelled. It was nice to get out there and feel that buzz again.”
Here’s the updated Premier League table. Liverpool are three points behind Manchester City, though I don’t think that will worry them too much. If it gets to five or six points, maybe. For now I think they’ll be frustrated but partially relieved to have - it was such a wild game and they could easily have lost.
Okay, it wasn’t the best game ever, but it was a uniquely entertaining one. There were four goals, a million missed opportunities, a red card for Andy Robertson, a yellow card for Harry Kane that should have been a red, at least one penalty that should have been given, an extended meltdown from Jurgen Klopp (to be fair to Klopp, he’s now laughing and joking with Son-Heung min), Dele Alli’s most encouraging performance in years, and so much else besides. It was just wonderful.
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Full time: Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Liverpool
Best game ever man.
90+5 min Tsimikas is booked for timewasting.
90+4 min Alisson - Alisson! - plays an outrageous crossfield pass to release Tsimikas on the left. His low cross towards Salah is crucially intercepted at the near post by the sliding Salah.
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90+3 min Alisson makes a terrific, point-blake save from Son! It wouldn’t have counted because the flag subsequently went up against Kane, though Alisson didn’t know that.
90+2 min Finally a touch of pragmatism: Joe Gomez replaces Diogo Jota, who scored a marvellous equaliser a couple of lifetimes ago.
90+1 min At the other end, Winks’ pass over the defence is too heavy for Son. Spurs have exposed Liverpool all day with balls over the top.
90 min Milner’s clip into the area is just too high for Jota. There will be six big ones of added time. Can’t they make it six hours?
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89 min “This game, beautifully bonkers though it is, still needs one thing,” says Matt Dony. “A late, late Alisson goal.”
88 min Liverpool are still pushing for a victory which, in the circumstances, would send their already stratospheric self-belief into another galaxy.
87 min Sergio Reguilon replaces Ryan Sessegnon, who had a fine game and kept Mo Salah very quiet.
85 min Ben Davies’s low cross is kicked desperately over his own bar by Konate. I think Davies was offside, but because he wasn’t flagged Spurs get the corner. Happily for Jurgen Klopp’s blood pressure, nothing comes of it.
85 min Konate is booked for taking a shortcut through Harry Winks (I think).
84 min Keita is booked for dissent. He was fouled by Sessegnon and asked Paul Tierney, not entirely politely, to produce a yellow card. And he did.
83 min After a promising break involving Kane and Lucas Moura (I think), Emerson Royal crosses behind three Spurs players.
82 min Virgil van Dijk has had an outstanding game today.
81 min Kostas Tsimikias comes on for Sadio Mane, which means a switch to 4-2-3. Firmino left, Jota right, Salah down the middle.
80 min Lucas Moura replaces Dele Alli, who is warmly applauded by the Spurs fans after a flawed but genuinely encouraging performance. Let’s hope, in years to come, we’ll reflect on how a Covid outbreak unwittingly revitalised Dele Alli’s career.
79 min Milner has gone to left-back, and Liverpool are now playing 4-1-4. Naby Keita is as alone in midfield as Steven Gerrard was against Arsenal 20 years ago.
ROBERTSON IS SENT OFF!
78 min It’s the right decision, whatever happened previously. Robertson kicked straight through Emerson Royal’s leg as he shielded the ball, as if he was an old sock. A disgraceful tackle in truth. Jurgen Klopp is complaining, probably more about Kane’s reprieve in the first half.
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He kicked Emerson Royal straight up in the air, a scandalous challenge really (though no worse than Kane’s on him).
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VAR CHECK! Robertson is going to be sent off.
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76 min Robertson is booked for a wild challenge on Emerson Royal. He should have been sent off as well.
76 min It’s all kicking off!
Winks played a one-two with Davies and shaped an excellent pass around Matip towards Son. Alisson charged to the edge of the area to beat Son to the ball, but he made a mess of his clearance and ended up sliding past the ball. Son ran onto the loose ball and gleefully slid it into the empty net.
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GOAL! Spurs 2-2 Liverpool (Son 74)
THIS IS THE BEST GAME I’VE SEEN IN YEARS!
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73 min Spurs will argue, not unreasonably I think, that Lloris had to leave his line to deal with the consequences of Salah’s (accidental) handball, so he was out of the game when Alexander-Arnold found Robertson. I think Spurs are a bit unfortunate there, though I do understand the logic behind the goal being given.
GOAL GIVEN! Spurs 1-2 Liverpool It must count as a different phase of play because the ball was subsequently touched by a Spurs player. You can argue it either way I suppose.
You can argue it’s a different phase of play I suppose. A deflected cross hit Salah’s arm and was scooped away desperately by Lloris. Alexander-Arnold followed up and smashed a cross that was headed in from close range by Robertson.
VAR CHECK! Hang on, I think this will disallowed for handball against Salah in the build up.
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GOAL! Spurs 1-2 Liverpool (Robertson 70)
Liverpool have taken the lead and Spurs are fuming about the challenge on Alli!
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69 min Another Spurs penalty appeal! Sanchez sprays a fine pass over the defence to Alli, who controls it on the chest and then goes down under challenge from Alexander-Arnold. It didn’t look like a foul, in truth, though we haven’t seen a replay.
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68 min We haven’t had a clear chance for 12 minutes.
65 min Fatigue is going to be a problem for Spurs, who have barely trained, never mind played, in the last two weeks. They were always likely to fade in a normal game, never mind one played at such a furious pace throughout.
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64 min A change for Spurs: Oliver Skipp replaces Tanguy Ndombele, who has faded slightly after an outstanding start to the game. There is a world-class player in there, and you’d back Antonio Conte to find him.
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63 min Liverpool have switched to 4-2-4, though at times it’s more like 2-4-4 or even 2-2-6. Salah and Firmino are now playing up front, with Jota on the right and Mane on the left.
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62 min “Totally agree with your observation on Dele’s contributions,” says Martin Gamage. “Maybe he hasn’t got the final pass away but this is his best game for at least two years. Glimpses of his former self.”
Yeah, I’d be much more encouraged by the good bits, especially the energy, intent and off-the-ball runs, than worried about the imperfections. It’s been like watching a slightly out-of-form version of the 2015-18 Alli.
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60 min Liverpool make their first change: Roberto Firmino replaces Tyler Morton, who started well but had a difficult time once the game hit top gear. We’ll soon see what that means tactically.
59 min “I reckon Conte fabricated the entire Covid outbreak so he could get extra time to coach the team,” says Richard Parkison. “Cressida Dick should investigate, if it’s not too far in the past.”
Haha, and as we speak Ralf Rangnick is putting McFred through their fifth training session of the day.
58 min Davies is booked for pulling back Salah, who has actually been extremely quiet. So far.
56 min A Spurs corner ricochets across the area to Kane, who heads onto the roof of the net for four yards! It was a sharp chance, with minimal reaction time, but he probably should have scored.
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55 min: What a chance for Spurs! Dier curls a marvellous pass over the defence to put Alli through on goal. He draws Alisson and then squares the ball to give Kane an open goal - but the pass is underhit and that allows Alisson to scramble across and block Kane’s shot. It was brilliant goalkeeping though.
54 min Matip charges all the way into the Spurs are and reverses a through pass to Jota, who is crowded out by Davies and Dier. Spurs break and Kane tries to release Son, who is expertly tracked by Robertson.
54 min Replays show that it was a foul by Matip, though it may have been just outside the area.
52 min Now Spurs appeal for a penalty when Winks goes down after a shove from behind by Matip. It was clumsy, possibly a foul, but certainly not as clear as the one on Jota in the first half. VAR aren’t interested.
51 min “Looking at Kane’s full studs up challenge on Robertson again, there is absolutely no excuse for him to get away with just a yellow,” says Keith Sanderson. “Only one more look for VAR should have confirmed that. Yes, we want 11 v 11 but that was abysmal from the officials.”
Agreed. It looks worse every time you see it. Robertson saw it coming and lifted his leg a split-second before Kane made contact; good job he did.
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49 min Kane has a shot from the edge of the area that is blocked by Konate, and then Ndombele bounces Keita to the canvas near the halfway line. Liverpool wanted a yellow card; Paul Tierney did not oblige them.
48 min Alexander-Arnold moves infield to receive possession and whips a cross towards the penalty spot, where Jota beats two defenders and loops a header just wide of the far post. He is outrageously good in the air, the antonym of a GTFABM.
47 min Winks is booked for pulling back Jota.
47 min There was no time to talk about Dele Alli’s first-half performance. Pretty good, I’d say, and noticeably more energetic than some of his displays in the last couple of years.
47 min “Hello Rob,” says Kári Tulinius. “If Covid chaos leads to such fun games of football, then maybe once the pandemic’s over, the Premier League could institute a pre-game lottery where a random starting player on each team gets a one-match ban and the manager has to rejig the tactics on the fly. Hopefully the second half is as fun as the first.”
You jest, but after last weekend’s F1 decider, all bets are off.
46 min Peep peep! Liverpool begin the second half.
“Hello from Pittsburgh, Rob!” says Eric Peterson. “I think it would be wise to open space in the Premier League schedule by taking selected rounds and rescheduling them for after May 22, when the Premier League is currently set to finish. There’s no summer World Cup to complicate a later end to the season, and we could use that extra downtime right now, for both health considerations and the generally more haphazard quality of football we’re seeing.
“My recommendations for rounds to be moved would be: the midweek round coming up between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and the midweek round of February 8-10 (virtually all of the PL will have a 4th round FA Cup tie the following weekend anyway, and those days would prove useful to make up postponed matches).”
I was all for having a break, but after that first half I think they should be made to go again tomorrow.
“Save for the last 10 minutes, it was quite fun and we should be ahead by a goal if not two,” says Yash Gupta. “Conte has really changed this team. I don’t remember Winks having this good game in a long time.”
We’re seeing a few replays of Kane’s goal. Ndombele’s pass is phenomenal - it’s basically a straight pass, between Robertson and Konate, but he shapes it like a bowling ball so that it curves around Kane and then into his path. Had it been gunbarrel straight it would have been much harder for Kane to take, and would probably have allowed Konate to make a challenge.
“Boring to moan about the ref,” says Luke Smith, “but he has been pretty shocking today to be fair.”
I wouldn’t be so harsh on yourself.
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Half time: Spurs 1-1 Liverpool
There is so much to dislike about modern football, all the greed and hype and narcissism and bullshit. And then you watch 45 minutes like that, and you’re 12 years old again. It was astonishing stuff, a basketball contest disguised as a football game, and it’s no exaggeration to say the score could be 5-5.
45+4 min Sessegnon beats Alexander-Arnold on the left of the area and picks out Kane, who makes a mess of a brilliant chance! He couldn’t sort his feet out and the ball bobbled away from goal.
45+3 min Winks clips a clever first-time pass in behind, but Son can’t control the bouncing ball on the run. Had he taken it in his stride, and he probably should have done, he would have been one on one.
45 min Three minutes of added time.
44 min Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick is headed across goal and wide by Jota. I think he was helping it on rather than going for a goal, and the stretching Mane wasn’t far away from reaching it. Incidentally we’ve just seen a replay of Alli’s chance earlier in the half - his shot was going in, right in the corner in fact, and Alisson made one of the saves of the season.
43 min: Fine save from Lloris! Honestly, this is the most glorious game of football. Mane runs at SOMEBODY, I HAVE NO IDEA and lifts a cross to the far post. Alexander-Arnold watches the ball drop, lasers in his peepers, and rifles a half-volley that is kicked away by Lloris.
42 min Mane’s deflected cross loops onto the roof of the net. Liverpool’s attacking play, against what is effectively an eight-man defence a lot of the time, has been spectacularly good.
40 min It looked like Jota was shoved in the back by Emerson Royal in the 37th minute. I think it was him, but it’s been such a frantic first half that I barely know my own name, never mind anyone else’s. I’d like to see it again to be sure, but there’s no time for replays at the moment.
39 min Klopp is booked for giving Paul Tierney a mouthful. He bows sarcastically, and then has a full and frank exchange with Tierney. Klopp’s noggin has completely gone, which is adding to the already enormous entertainment.
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38 min A Spurs corner is punched away unconvincingly by Alisson. Actually it hit Matip’s head first and then Alisson’s arm, before dropping favourably for Liverpool in the six-yard box. That could easily have fallen to a Spurs striker, or even been an own goal by Alisson.
37 min Mane released Jota in the area with an angled pass. He goes down under challenge from a couple of defenders, but Paul Tierney isn’t interested. There’s no time to digest that - at least not yet, it might go to VAR - because seconds later Alisson almost gives the ball straight to Kane. I think that’s a foul on Jota you know.
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Mane’s cross was cut out by Davies, but Robertson marauded onto the scene to pick up the loose ball just inside the area. He charged away from Davies and stood up a cross towards Jota, who tensed his neck muscles to guide a header past Lloris from 10 yards. Brilliant, carpe-diem play from Robertson, a brilliant header from Jota, and a glorious game of association football.
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GOAL! Spurs 1-1 Liverpool (Jota 35)
Moments after getting a blast from Jurgen Klopp, Andy Robertson makes the equaliser!
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34 min Jurgen Klopp has just given Andy Robertson a mouthful on the touchline. And then...
34 min Another chance for Spurs on the break! Kane broeke down the right but then, with Son in space at the far post, crossed too close to Alisson. With the right weight of pass - and it wasn’t that difficult a ball for Kane to play - it would have been 2-0.
32 min This has been such an enjoyable game. In the circumstances, Spurs’ performance has been phenomenal.
30 min: What a save from Alisson! Another devastating counter-attack from Spurs. Winks belted a long clearance towards Son, who held the ball up and waited for support. Kane made an outstanding off-the-ball run from left to right to take Konate out of the game and clear the space for Alli, charging the length of the field in support. Son used Kane by not using him and then guided a perfect angled pass into the path of Alli. He took the shot first time, on the run, and the ball flashed this far wide of the right-hand post. At first it looked like a miss, but replays showed that it brushed the fingertips of Alisson as he dived to his left. There’s a chance Alli’s shot was going wide anyway; either way, it was magnificent goalkeeping.
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29 min Robertson’s chipped free-kick is headed wide by Mane, backpedalling beyond the far post. It wasn’t an easy chance, especially as there was no pace on the ball, but he’ll be annoyed he didn’t work Lloris.
27 min Milner is fouled by Alli on the right wing. Alexander-Bruyne’s free-kick is headed away by Winks, but Liverpool keep the ball and Mane is fouled by Emerson Royal on the other side. Royal is booked.
23 min Mane’s shot is crucially blocked by Dier, and then Keita’s follow-up from the edge of the area is shovelled unconvincingly round the post by Lloris. Actually, replays show Keita’s shot took a slight deflection off Davies, which is why Lloris’s save was scruffy. More importantly, it was effective, and in the end he did pretty well.
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23 min Morton is booked for a foul on Winks, who was about to launch another Spurs counter-attack. This has been a pulsating start to the match.
22 min It was a one-footed lunge from Kane, but he caught Robertson on the ankle. His reputation may have saved him from being sent off.
19 min Kane is booked for an overexcited, studs-up lunge at Robertson. That wasn’t far from a red-card offence, and Jurgen Klopp is fuming.
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18 min Son misses a one-on-one, though he was almost certainly offside. Antonio Conte’s switch to a front two has been inspired, with Son’s speed and movement causing all sorts of problems for Liverpool’s van Dijkless defence.
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16 min: Son almost makes it 2-0! Spurs are killing Liverpool on the break. Kane won a 50/50 with Morton just inside his own half, and suddenly Spurs had a two-on-one. Kane charged down the inside-right channel and crossed to Son, who slid the ball wide on the stretch. Kane’s cross/pass was slightly too far in front of Son.
15 min Kane had a chance just before the goal as well, when a close-range shot was superbly blocked by Konate.
Ndombele, who has started quite brilliantly, found a bit of space 35 yards from goal and slid a lovely straight pass between Robertson and Konate. Kane got to it first, a fraction ahead of Konate, and sidefooted a precise shot into the far corner. It’s his first Premier League goal at home this season, and he took it superbly.
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GOAL! Spurs 1-0 Liverpool (Kane 13)
Harry Kane gives Spurs the lead!
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11 min Alexander-Arnold, 22 yards from goal, whistles a sweet shot with his left foot (yep) that is punched away to his left by the diving Lloris. It looked dramatic but was ultimately a pretty comfortably save.
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10 min Son beats Matip on the edge of the area, only for Keita to make an important lunging tackle. Spurs look dangerous on the break, and Liverpool look dangerous every time they have the ball.
7 min Morton is playing the Fabinho role, with Milner to his left and Keita to the right, and has already played two or three eyecatching passes.
6 min Morton’s ambitious long pass just evades Salah, who would have been through on goal.
5 min “Greetings from LA,” says Ian Copestake, “where the nest wave of misery is yet to fully hit home (I saw a crowded subway train full of Santas yesterday!). Perhaps given football’s top negotiators’ penchant for ethical deals it is time to meet with Covid and talk cash.”
4 min Dier drives a long, angled pass behind Alexander-Arnold for the pacy Sessegnon. He heads the ball into the area and is about to cross to the unmarked Kane when the recovering Alexander-Arnold pokes the ball behind for a corner.
2 min Milner’s long-range shot is held by Lloris, sprawling to his right. Liverpool have made a flying start.
1 min: Chance for Robertson! Liverpool should be ahead after 59 seconds. Alexander-Arnold moves infield from the right and kisses a chip into the area, where Robertson stoops to head wide from 12 yards. He should have scored.
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1 min Spurs’ system is a 3-3-2-2 (or 5-1-2-2), with Winks playing slightly deeper than Alli and Ndombele in midfield. Son and Kane are up front.
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1 min Peep peep! Spurs, in white, kick off from left to right.
Antonio Conte speaks
“It’s not easy, because we had two very difficult weeks. We haven’t been able to train and the last game was two weeks ago. It’s not simple to try to prepare the game. We have to be safe, and for that reason the Premier League has to make the best decision.”
Jurgen Klopp speaks
“Thiago has tested positive and we sent Hendo home. He is the only one with proper symptoms but no Covid - he has a cold. I’m happy to play but of course the situation is really strange. You prepare a team and you have no idea if [somebody will test positive] the next day. We did lateral flow tests in the hotel this morning: all negative, so let’s go.
“We all fly together, all this kind of thing... it’s not really cool, but I think we have to fight through this. But again, if we lose another player and another player and another player, and we have to play on the 26th and the 28th, it’s not possible. It’s really hard for the players at the moment. We’re talking abot human beings. I’m happy playing football as much as we can, but we need help.”
I doubt we’ve heard the last of that Chelsea result. They were angry about the game being played even before they dropped two points.
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This, as you’d expect from Scott Murray, is a tremendous read
The two early games have just finished. If you don’t want to know the scores, DON’T LOOK DOWN.
- Wolves 0-0 Chelsea
- Newcastle 0-4 Man City
Plenty of notable team news, as you’d expect in these peculiar times. Dele Alli gets a rare start, one of five changes from the 3-0 win over Norwich a fortnight ago. Ryan Sessegnon, Tanguy Ndombele, Emerson Royal and Harry Winks also come in, with Japhet Tanganga, Sergio Reguilon, Lucas Moura, Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg left out. All bar Hojbjerg are on the bench. We’re not sure where Ndombele and Alli will line up; Antonio Conte may have switched to 5-3-2 to give more protection in midfield.
Liverpool are without their entire first-choice midfield, so the teenager Tyler Morton gets his first Premier League start. He was born on 31 October 2002, ten days before James Milner, who also starts today, made his Premier League debut. The three changes in midfield - Morton, Milner and Naby Keita for Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - are the only ones made by Jurgen Klopp.
Spurs (possible 5-3-2) Lloris; Royal, Sanchez, Dier, Davies, Sessegnon; Ndombele, Winks, Alli; Kane, Son.
Substitutes: Austin, Rodon, Tanganga, Doherty, Reguilon, Skipp, Lo Celso, Bergwijn, Lucas.
Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Konate, Robertson; Keita, Morton, Milner; Salah, Jota, Mane.
Substitutes: Kelleher, Firmino, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Tsimikas, Gordon, N Williams, Quansah.
Referee Paul Tierney.
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Team news
Your team to face Liverpool! 💪 pic.twitter.com/8c4nHEEPDw
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 19, 2021
🔴 𝑻𝑬𝑨𝑴 𝑵𝑬𝑾𝑺 🔴
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 19, 2021
Here’s how we line up for today’s meeting with @SpursOfficial! #TOTLIV
Thiago Alcantara will miss this afternoon’s Premier League fixture with Tottenham Hotspur after registering a suspected positive test for COVID-19.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 19, 2021
Jordan Henderson is also absent because of illness, but has registered a negative test for COVID-19.
Preamble
Go on then, let’s have one last blowout. Tottenham v Liverpool is the final Premier League game before Christmas, maybe even for the forseeable future. Spurs’ home form has been immaculate since Antonio Conte took over, with four wins out of four, but the difficulty level is about to rise. Liverpool are bang in form, with eight wins from eight since the international break. They’re also battle-hardened, whereas Spurs haven’t played for a fortnight because of Covid. We’ll find out which players have recovered when the teams are announced in the next couple of minutes.
Spurs will start the game in seventh or eighth, depending on the result at Molineux, though they have between two and four games in hand on the teams in front of them. Liverpool are second, four points behind Manchester City with this match to spare. It’s starting to look like a two-horse race for the title. The way City are playing, Liverpool have little margin for error.
Kick off 4.30pm.
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