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Premier League, Matchweek 34
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LIV
5th in Premier League
4
Sun Apr 30, 2023
Full Time
3
logo
TOT
8th in Premier League
C. Jones 3'
L. Díaz 5'
Mohamed Salah 15' (PEN)
Diogo Jota 90'+4'
goal
2.2
xG
2.03
goal
H. Kane 40'
Son Heung-min 77'
Richarlison 90'+3'

How Liverpool beat Tottenham 4-3 thanks to Jota's 94th-minute goal after surrendering 3-0 lead

Liverpool have beaten Tottenham 4-3 after surrendering a three-goal lead in an incredible Premier League match at Anfield. The hosts jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 15 minutes, getting goals from Curtis Jones, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah.
Michael Dominski and Noah Murray
How Liverpool beat Tottenham 4-3 thanks to Jota's 94th-minute goal after surrendering 3-0 lead

Summary

Liverpool have beaten Tottenham 4-3 after surrendering a three-goal lead in an incredible Premier League match at Anfield.

The hosts jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 15 minutes, getting goals from Curtis Jones, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah.

Harry Kane pulled a goal back for Spurs before half-time, before Son Heung-min cut the deficit to 3-2 in the 77th minute.

An incredible period of 99 seconds in injury time then saw Richarlison level the match before Diogo Jota won it in the 94th minute.

The result lifts Liverpool up to fifth place, pushing Spurs down to sixth in the table.

The Athletic UK Staff

Liverpool 4-3 Tottenham: A thriller that underlines why neither team are top four

Liverpool won a fourth successive Premier League match thanks to an incredible 94th-minute winner from Diogo Jota against Spurs at Anfield.

Goals from Curtis Jones, Luis Diaz and a Mohamed Salah penalty put Jurgen Klopp’s team in a commanding position in the first 15 minutes, as Spurs found themselves all but beaten in the first third of a match for the second Sunday running.

However Harry Kane and Son Heung-min pulled two goals back, before Richarlison’s first Premier League goal for Tottenham looked to have earned Ryan Mason’s team an unlikely point.

But Lucas Moura’s errant pass a minute later presented Jota with the golden chance.

The Athletic’s Stuart James, Charlie Eccleshare and James Pearce analysed the action, including:

  • An entertaining insight into top-four failure
  • Another dreadful start for Tottenham
  • Luis Diaz makes a welcome return for Liverpool
  • Kane has shone even when Spurs haven’t
  • Oh, Moura…

GO FURTHER

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Mason: 'We were the better team by an absolute country mile'

Ryan Mason made a bold claim speaking to Sky Sports after the loss: "(I'm) devastated. The reality is the team that created the most chances lost the game.

"We were the better team by an absolute country mile. To gift a team like Liverpool four goals makes it difficult. It's tough to put it into words, absolutely gutted."

Klopp slams referee

Jurgen Klopp was highly critical of referee Paul Tierney's performance after the match: "How can they give a foul on Mohamed Salah (leading to Spurs' third goal)? We have history with Paul Tierney. I really don’t know what he has against us, he has said there is no problems but that cannot be true.

"How he looks at me, I don’t understand it. In England nobody has to clarify these situations, it’s really tricky and hard to understand."

When Liverpool scored the winning goal Klopp ran over and screamed in the face of fourth official John Brooks, before appearing to injure himself.

"My celebration was unnecessary, which is fair but what he said to me when he gave me the yellow card is not ok."

Klopp, king of supersubs

Klopp, king of supersubs

Diogo Jota's goal in the 94th minute was the sixth time Jurgen Klopp has brought on a substitute who scored a winning goal in the 90th minute or later.

No manager has done so more times in the history of the Premier League.

(All photos by Getty Images)

Trent Alexander-Arnold's new role

Trent Alexander-Arnold's free role created a lot of chances for Liverpool today, but this doesn't mean there won't be teething pains in its implementation.

When asked about this after the match, the full-back said: "It's a full-team system, not just my position has changed. Everyone has to change and adapt to it. We're enjoying it, creating chances, dominating games."

Galloping Gakpo, dreadful Dier

Galloping Gakpo, dreadful Dier

Cody Gakpo led the line for Liverpool well with his all-round performance, highlighting why he's consistently preferred to Darwin Nunez.

The Netherlands international has the technical ability to drop a little deeper, holding up the ball and intelligently linking play, allowing Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah to be more direct.

This was particularly effective in disrupting Eric Dier, who attempted to push out to him several times.

However, Gakpo got the better of him every time, opening space for his fellow attackers and pressing Dier well, forcing him to give up the ball cheaply on several occasions.

Cristian Romero didn't dealt with him any better...

(All photos by Getty Images)

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Robertson, inside and out

Robertson, inside and out

Trent Alexander-Arnold had the freedom of the pitch when Spurs were in possession today, progressing up as far as attacking midfield areas.

Whilst Andy Robertson didn't have the same licence to roam he was just as important tactically to Jurgen Klopp.

The Scotland international was effective in going to the byline before tucking in more centrally, being vertically in line with the penalty box.

This was very effective in toying with Pedro Porro.

When Spurs dug in and Hojbjerg and Skipp were occupied, Robertson had a bit of time to cross from a more central position before a defender could get out to him.

Similarly when he went wide he was equally as effective, drawing Porro further away from the compact defence to open up space for Luis Diaz or Diogo Jota.

(All photos by Getty Images)

Kane: 'Hard to put into words how or why that happens'

Harry Kane provided a candid assessment of Spurs' game and season, speaking to Sky Sports: "It was a dreadful start in the first 20 minutes, it’s not the first time it’s happened this season. We need to start understanding big games better.

"The first 20 minutes is one game but then the other 75 minutes, we had chances, hit the post and fully deserved to get back into the game. Overall, it would’ve been a great comeback. The last 10 seconds is hard to put into words how or why that happens.

"The starts we have had are hard to put into words and are unacceptable.

"There’s only so many words you can use, the bottom line is you need to go out there and show it isn’t that case... It’s a feeling of gut-wrenching defeat.

"The table doesn’t lie, where we are doesn’t lie. We’ve got some fantastic players and moments but as a team we aren’t playing good enough collectively... We deserve to be where we are."

Jota: 'It's not a great tackle'

Speaking after the match, Jota seemed to understand where Ryan Mason was coming from regarding his booking for a high boot on Oliver Skipp: "It's not a great tackle. I also touched the ball. I also think he gets his head down. It's just brave from him. Unfortunately it's a foot in the face. I saw the ref could see I didn't mean it and it's just football."

It is worth noting that intent has no bearing on whether a red card should be awarded.

Mason: Jota shouldn't have been on the pitch

Mason: Jota shouldn't have been on the pitch

Ryan Mason was critical of Paul Tierney's decision to show only a yellow card for Diogo Jota's high boot on Oliver Skipp: "Honestly, it's probably the clearest red card you will see. I need an explanation. It endangered the opponent, Skipp needs stitches and Jota has scored the goal when he shouldn't be on the pitch."

(All photos by Getty Images)

Mason: Result 'tough to take'

Ryan Mason provided his thoughts to the BBC: "To give a team a 3-0 lead makes it almost impossible to come back from.

"The feeling is that we can score goals and hurt opponents. We created chances, they didn't give us anything, we had to work for that. To equalise at the end, and then give it away is so hard to take.

"I probably speak for everyone that there was some fear. We need to address that and be better. After that we showed togetherness.

"This is the Premier League, it's relentless and you have to be ready to fight for 95 minutes.

"We conceded three terrible goals and it's hard to explain why that happened. It's tough to take."

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How will Mason feel?

Ryan Mason will certainly be bolstered by his side's determination but he'll be disappointed that most of their problems were of their own making.

Be it tactical or personal — notably Lucas Moura's mistake for the winning goal — Spurs were poor for the vast majority of the game.

The turning point to positivity for Tottenham was the introduction of Pape Matar Sarr. Once he came on for Dejan Kulusevski, Trent Alexander-Arnold stopped drifting as much as it was a more traditional 3 vs 3 in the midfield.

As Liverpool had less space to exploit, Spurs had more joy controlling the ball and it ultimately got them back into the game.

Tottenham's caretaker manager will naturally be disappointed by the manner in which his side lost the game, but he undoubtedly learned a lot about his team across the last thirty minutes.

Alexander-Arnold: 'From disappointment to sheer joy'

Trent Alexander-Arnold gave his thoughts to Sky Sports after the game: "Crazy. These are the games we want to play in.

"It was a fantastic ending to a game, stuff you love to see to be honest. We went from disappointment to sheer joy in about a minute.

"The first 15 minutes we were all over them but there is a lot of stuff we need to learn, we can't be almost drawing 3-3 when we're 3-0 up.

"We need to put top sides to bed."

Player of the match

Player of the match

This is a hard one, but on the balance of play the person who had the greatest positive effect on the game was Son Heung-min.

Spurs' poor play and Liverpool's marking rendered Tottenham unable to exploit the space freed by Trent Alexander-Arnold's free role for most of the game.

However, Son worked well to bring himself into the game in other ways. His movement for Harry Kane's goal was positive, dropping deeper to link with Skipp who could then pick up Perisic whose run was not being tracked.

After that Son was fired into life, hitting the post on two occasions before getting a well-deserved goal, plus linking up the attack more effectively than Kane.

In ordinary circumstances Mohamed Salah would have probably taken this POTM accolade for me. However, I was disappointed in the manner that Liverpool shrank in the game after securing their third goal.

(All photos by Getty Images)

Jota says he anticipated Moura's backpass for winning goal

Jota says he anticipated Moura's backpass for winning goal

Diogo Jota had mixed thoughts on the game: "We made it hard on ourselves, we need to avoid being in these situations, but in the end it is a day to remember for everyone in the stadium.

"Everyone dreams to score a last-minute winner, I thought Lucas (Moura) who is not usually a defender might pass it to the keeper and I anticipated it and believed I could score."

On what Klopp told him to do when he came on: "At that moment it was important to get second balls, that's what he asked of me. The second goal gave Tottenham confidence, it's Premier League and it's hard to manage."

(All photos by Getty Images)

A Son resurgence would do a lot for Spurs

If Ryan Mason’s (second) mini-era can get Son back to attacking beyond opposition defences and getting back in shooting positions, it could be (even) more valuable to Tottenham than securing Europa Conference League football.

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Spurs player ratings

  • Forster: 5. Didn't do anything wrong, or right.
  • Romero: 6. Poor first half, a beneficiary of Liverpool's reduced attacking emphasis, excellent ball for Son's goal.
  • Dier: 4. His brutal first half can't be overlooked.
  • Davies: 6. Helped Perisic well.
  • Porro: 5. Seems to enjoy going forward a lot more than defending.
  • Hojbjerg: 5. He and Skipp were mostly islands, struggled to connect with defenders or attackers.
  • Skipp: 6. Same as Hojbjerg except his pass to Perisic for Kane's goal was fantastic.
  • Perisic: 7. Excellent delivery for Kane goal.
  • Kulusevski: 5. Looked good for a 15-minute period either side of half-time, but the rest of the game was very quiet.
  • Kane: 5. Barely got on the ball, took his finish well.
  • Son: 7. Spurs' best goalscoring threat, deserved his goal, great delivery for Richarlison's goal.
  • Subs: Sarr (6), Richarlison (N/A), Lucas (N/A), Danjuma (N/A)

Liverpool player ratings

  • Alisson: 5. Distribution lacked and was rescued by the post twice.
  • Alexander-Arnold: 7. Was very good in the first half but he and the rest of the Liverpool team were more subdued in the second half.
  • Konate: 6. Mostly solid and helped Alexander-Arnold well.
  • Van Dijk: 6. Marshalled Kane well.
  • Robertson: 6. Good performance, helped Diaz and provided good structure.
  • Fabinho: 6. Better in the first half, benefitting from Alexander-Arnold's new role but needs to set the tone better.
  • Elliott: 6. Started well but got complacent as the game progressed.
  • Jones: 6. Took his chance well but struggled to impact the game as it progressed.
  • Diaz: 7. Good finish for the goal, doesn't seem to be at full sharpness but a huge boost to have back.
  • Gakpo: 7. Led the line well, brought others in and pressed effectively.
  • Salah: 7. Always reliable for Liverpool, his determination was particularly notable, and as others began to slack, he did not.
  • Subs: Diogo Jota (7), Henderson (7), Nunez (5), Milner (N/A)

Updated table

Updated table

Liverpool jump up into fifth, while Tottenham's hopes of finishing in the top four are left hanging by a thread:

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