Liverpool were cruelly dealt their first defeat of the season in north London as despite a valiant rearguard effort for much of the game with 10 and then nine men, The Reds conceded late on when Joel Matip turned the ball into his own net.
In truth the football only tells half the story, however, with match officials and their incompetence taking the headlines for all the wrong reasons once again.
Curtis Jones was dismissed early in the first half despite his foot sliding over the ball and an initial yellow card being awarded. Shortly after Luis Diaz had a perfectly executed goal disallowed for offside due to what has now been described by those in charge as a ‘significant human error’ – laughable.
‘ALISSON INCREDIBLE BUT WE WERE ROBBED’ | TOTTENHAM 2-1 LIVERPOOL | DAN’S MATCH REACTION
Jurgen Klopp’s charges went behind through a well-worked Spurs goal with Son Heung-min the beneficiary of the move as the hosts capitalised on their numerical advantage.
Despite the apparent battle against 13 men, Liverpool levelled before the break through Cody Gakpo as the Dutchman swivelled in the area and struck a powerful volley into the back of the Tottenham net.
Having been wrongly denied earlier, Diaz so nearly put the visitors in front once again as the Colombian stretched for a delicious Mohamed Salah that ultimately was just out of reach.
Klopp’s side continued to fight for every inch on the itch and held their own for the most part and were more than in the fight as the second half went on until Diogo Jota was dismissed for two yellow cards in quick succession – the first of which was a horrendous decision as Destiny Udogie tripped himself up.
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Liverpool went all out defence with nine men and so nearly held on throughout the combined brilliance of Alisson Becker and the defensive strength of Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and the ultimately unfortunate Matip.
However, with time ticking away slower than ever, the Cameroonian inadvertently turned a powerful low cross beyond Alisson leaving the Brazilian no chance – which is saying something in itself given what the Brazilian had managed to keep out up until this point.
For The Reds, despite the defeat, this was another showing of resilience, desire and the fight required to achieve something remarkable this season as Klopp’s Liverpool 2.0 continued to take on adversity and obvious injustice with a remarkable siege mentality.
For the officials, as the Premier League is so proudly proclaimed as the ‘best league in the world’ it’s long since been blatantly obvious the officials fall way short of that standard and now it seems they are way short of even being fit for purpose.
Ratings
XI: Alisson 9 (MAN OF THE MATCH) Gomez 8, Matip 8, Van Dijk 9, Robertson 9; Mac Allister 7, Szoboszlai 8, Jones NA; Salah 8, Diaz 8, Gakpo 7.
Subs: Endo 7, Konate 7, Gravenberch 6, Alexander-Arnold 7.
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